There once lived an ancient civilization, in a world marred by hatred; one that conquered both land and sea. These people once lived in a land that embraced magic and harnessed the forces of both good and evil. They worshiped an entity who they believed was a god. This 'god' taught them the meaning of life, the splendors of duality. He taught the people of Rinoa the knowledge of the arcane, taught them of the world's darkness.
The people believed he was the link between light and dark. This man was known as the father of all magic, the creator of vessels without a soul. The man who defied death, and tampered with it as if it were a game. The magic users believed this was a man who could transcend space and time, however he was no man... When the people discovered what he could do they grew envious of his power. A group of soldiers stormed his home horrified at what he had done, he created life out of the dead.
"What have you done?" They cried, when the man failed to answer, they took matters into their own hands. However this was all just a ploy to kill the man and harness the power he possessed. "Die! Evil spirit die!" They shot the man with arrows, hitting him with swords, creations all conspired by the mind of man. But the man was stronger. He revealed his true form. Magic transforming his radiance to a creature of night. He stood; a creature so vile he towered with the wrath of darkness. Standing mountains above the people, carrying with him a radiant light besieged by black. A mass of tentacle-like tongues writhed and wriggled out his mouth. Sharp eyes of peacock, cursed the man's body. Wings of night amassed his back.
The man rose above the ground. For he now saw the people had no love in their heart's, their souls corrupted, tainted by his teachings, their selfishness. Curiosity replaced by the void of hate and envy. He invoked the ancient curse using a spell that was forever lost in time. The ancient curse; the curse of Azraias once again reigned terror on the land of Rinoa. This creature still lives today lurking with shadows meddling with the lives of innocents. He awaits with the passage of time, wating patiently within the shadows. For the day the chosen one with a heart of purity may rebel against their control.
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"Grandmother could you please continue the story?"
The voice came from a young fairy clad in pajamas. Her piping voice weaved with traces of light. A fairy who had not yet earned her wings. A parade of pink and purple polka dots, traced her pajama top. Her gaze caught her grandmother's, her face a fair shade of brown, that mirrored the embers of her grandmother's youth.
A quilt of flowers was drawn under her chin. Each square of quilt depicting a memory of the adventures of her grandmother's youth. Her piping voice sailed throughout the room in oceans of thought. She stared with anticipation, her round eyes beguiled by curiosity. A flower shaped nightlight was plugged in the outlet. Vestiges of colored light sailed in waves of light emanating from the night light. The room was filled with the disarray of clutter and children's toys. Stuffed animals and fabric dolls sat tucked in a ring around the child, folded beneath the comfort of blankets with the child. Mountains of pillows, and plush toys adorned the bed.
The bed was round, the mattress a soft shade of pink lined with the wealth of silk. The mattress a cloud of warmth. The bed was made from a large hollow walnut. The Plumes of mattress uneven. The pink sheets of silk a ghost in the night. The house the girl and her grandmother lived in was a bulbous head of mushroom. A toadstool speckled with eyes of white. Holes carved in the mushroom had sea glass for windows, supported by sticks, wrapped in strings of leather that framed the windows. Dark was the room ghosts of moonlight came from the window.
Her grandmother, with her face aged like a prune of citrus, still held beauty that swam within her eyes of mirth. Her grandmother was wistful, as her short plump fingers traced her fingers over the shell of the book. For her grandmother it held a graveyard of lost connections. The book with a hardcover of sea shell lay flat, the spine of the book remained splayed open across the parchment of leaf.
The book held a compendium of nostalgia with scriptures of the past. "Alright child. I will tell you the story of how I lost my first love. The tale I will tell you is a tale of tragedy. It's the story of how I became the hero of Rinoa. The friends I made along the way..." The old fairy's voice sounded with regret, her crows neck visible. "Yes grandma. Please read it." The young fairy pleaded. "You know I can't sleep without a story." Her voice fell silent, a whisper in the dark of the room.
"Alright dear child. You must promise me never to fall in love, as your sisters before you have." The sonnet of her voice was weary with the omen of future. "Alright grandma I promise." The fairy promised her eyes blinking with the innocence of youth.
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Our story starts with a small fairy sitting atop a mushroom, her wings folded neatly against her back. Her name was Taika. Princess Taika to be exact. She was the 3rd oldest daughter sired from the chief of the fairy clan, and it was she that was third in line to become chief. Her eldest sister Dalyza was her father's heir, for he was a king who bore no sons. In a kingdom of entropy, the stars of tomorrow would be the fairy people's guide. A warrior of starlight would soon emerge from the darkness to free the fairy kingdom from the tyrant of the night that was the Shadow King, king Azraias.
It was here in the forest that Taika awaited a hero's blessing, to save her people to join the war against darkness. The hero's sword would guide the faires and all creatures of the land of Rinoa to light. Taika's dress swam with fields of orange, marred by streaks of black. A dress woven from wild tiger lily was woven around her body. The petals of her dress curled outwards, umbrellas of color blooming outwards. Taika's dress was held together with skeins of yellow vine, that danced flowing around the curves of her bust and hips. The petalled frills of her brasserie kept her chest hidden.
Taika's skin was a warm shade of brown that seemed to glow in the eye of the sun. Her with her skin a deep brown, her eyes of honey bathed in the brown of sienna. Flecks of golden constellations glittered with the radiance of the sun. The colors of Taika's eyes swam with the sunrise of brown veiled in her eyes. The wreath of a tiara was braided with wires of hardened vine that twisted, enraptured lost within the seas of yellow that swam amongst the chaplets of green. The vines sang with incantations of sunlight, flowers of yellow and orange framed Taika's face.
Her cheeks were a pearl of roundness, her face the shape of forrest almonds. Sparkles of fairy dust glittered. Her wings of ochre caught tears of sun that descended from rivers of sunset. Her wings a lantern of fire that shone with the brilliance of diamonds. Even in the darkest of places, they shone which was both a curse and a blessing. Taika with her wings the shape autumn leaves emanated with an iridescence of light that twinkled. Her wings faded to a deep omber at the tips, smoldering against the fires of orange.
Taika's face was framed by thick tresses of raven hair that wedded with deep brown. Thick curls of hair draped over her shoulders, rivers of curls falling above her waist. Small particles of fairy dust floated down to the ground. Taika's wings fanned open and close basking in the sunlight that drifted down from the forrest canopy.
Taika's legs swung carelessly, her bare feet grazing over the calm waters of river that flowed throughout the forest. The trees swayed majestically with the melody of wind. Golden branches of ichor stretched upwards beckoned the horizon. Blankets of golden moss entertained a crowd of mushrooms that hugged the tree trunks. The dew of tomorrow glistened in the moonlight. Fields of mushrooms, and verdure ran hither and thither about the forrest.
When the sun had no tears left to cry, light turned to dark. Tears of sunlight blighted the forest of gold. The sky of melancholy, bathed in the night of moon. Plumes of night danced with the sky painted with delicate strokes of ink that besieged the night. The paint on the canvass of sky the ink of shadow. Swirls of clouds kissed the sonnet of ink tenderly.
Stars of velvet, burst with rainbows of color, hung by a nail in the sky. The moon watched all of Rinoa with a placid glow. Thousands of stars sat clustered drawn across the expanse of sky. Taika's eyes fell close with serenity. She hummed to herself, her head rocking back and forth with the melody of forrest. A small pathway of leaves rounded the entrance to the Mushroom Grotto, the home of the fairies. A choir of birds sang the opera of night night above the treetops, a duet of crickets joined with strings of orchestra. The final song of night.
Plants swayed with the wind dancing to the gentle lullaby of the birds. Toads croaked mournfully, chests billowing out like deflated balloons. A soft thunk reverberated throughout the forest. Then another. A whip of lightning cracked, cackling across the sky. Claws of lightning raked thin tendrils of hand across a copse of trees. Setting alight trees of forrest.
A tree had caught fire. The lights of Taika's eyes fluttered open startled. The temptation of sleep vanishing. Taika observed a bee with worry, as the insect burrowed it's way into a flower tucking itself in for the night with petals of yellow. A beacon of naivety to the danger of storm. Another loud noise disturbed the reverie of the forest. The ground shook, the earth trembled with the wrath of lightning. The sky's mood darkened with the warning of thunder.
An earthquake of storm threw Taika from her spot, birds scattered across the treetops. Tantrums of lightning fought against sky. The tree burned with torch of fire, flickering, smoldering the earth with the rage of fire that burned. Animals took shelter in the comfort of their burrows, others dove beneath the water's surface. A tall bird-like creature buried it's head into the ground in a vain attempt to hide. Taika was dour with annoyance, mud slid across her cheek as she fell. Her dress daubed with fires of mud.
Taika looked beyond at her back, she could see the tip of her wing was broken, her wing bent forward at an odd angle. She grimaced flickering with pain, which bled to horror. Taika as she tried to flutter her wing barely managing hardly to hover above the ground. She flew in weak circles, the betrayal of her wings dropped her. She fell with a thud.
A storm of giants swept through the forest, in troops of silver and brown. Wands of mages glared ominously. It was them, the servants of darkness cloaked with their garbs of magic. The mages the color of darkness in a valley of light. Taika's eyes darted around her surroundings with panic. She dove beneath the toadstool she once sat upon.
She cursed her wings, her ancestors, as her wings of day illuminated the dark of night. Taika's wings rippled with a vibrant surge of magic. Fairies weren't the best at camouflage, especially not at night. It was one of the reasons fairies were almost driven near extinction. Taika was ambivalent with wonder, with the cauldron of fear that bubbled with curiosity, once she saw them. It was long since humans were barred from the forest by her father. Taika was amazed having gone her whole life without ever having seen a single human, she was unsure what the human appearance even looked like.
Plumes of magic spired around the warlocks of night, lithe bodies blossomed in coils of magic their garbs exuded. Faded runes of magic flicked before fading with remnants of day. They dark mages melted with shadow, laved with the rapture of night, with their masks of owl. Their faces were shrouded with masks of porcelain that were split down the halves, their mouths uncovered. Some held masks of raven adorning their faces. The bodies of the mages pulsed lethargically a puppet on display for their master the king of Shadows. They moved like spasmodic puppets dangled by a fish hook of string. Carnival marionette's dancing to please their master. The leader held what looked to be a box with a glowing light trapped, writhing inside. The mages said nothing, bathed with the essence of shadows.
The mages of shadow were pawns of the Shadow King who played with the members of his league in the game of chess that was war. The war between brother's The Sun king and King of Shadows still raged on with eons of time doing nothing to quell the animosity between brother's. The people of shadows were devoted to servitude to the man who blighted the land of sunlight. The phantom of fear haunted Taika. The heads and upper bodies of the mages twitched in intervals. Incoherent noises sputtered out the mages mouths, their words slurred together drunkenly. The intruders wore strange garments embedded with the mystery of shadows.
'They can't be dragons.' Taika wondered. She watched the creatures search the woods for something or rather someone. 'They don't have any scales, but what about the Forest Guardian? Surely he wouldn't let anyone past.'
'No they can't be...' She had only heard fragments of tale, fallacies woven by the disillusioned tribesmen, warriors of the fae. Humans were a myth, a wives tale told by the tribal elders to warn their youth of humans. Taika knew of the legendary giants that once conquered the land. The humans harnessed the magic of each element. Sized kingdoms, destroying nations once ruled by mythical creatures, betraying those who they once lived in with harmony. Humans tore apart alliances, terraforming the earth with their greed.
One after one each kingdom was captured. It all started when the Spades Kingdom was captured by the king of Shadows. Then the dark knight came... The kingdom of hearts was first fall to the tyranny of night. Then the Tsarina of diamonds surrendered. The kingdoms that remained surrendered fearing the wrath of shadows. The last kingdom the kingdom of Clubs fell to a desert of tyranny. With each kingdom was ruled by the cards of fate, with each kingdom holding a card to the legendary deck of Rinoa.
The sacred deck of cards, went missing long ago, the cards scattered across remnants of Rinoa. The humans took magic for themselves erasing it from the culture of others. They desiccated desserts, for he who was in possession of the deck of Rinoa would be the most powerful mage of all. The humans were the same race that forced many creatures into hiding. The hoomins they were called.
Or perhaps it was human? No that didn't sound right. Taika hoped the grass would conceal her from sight, but then again wouldn't even the dullest of creatures notice the grass was glowing orange? Taika hoped they wouldn't. There was a sacred rule amongst all the creatures, to defy it would go against tradition with the punishment being banishment, even death at the highest penalty.
For fairies it meant she would lose her wings, which she had spent years to earn. The rule was they weren't to interact with humans, if anyone found out a human had caught sight of you no matter your species you would be exiled in fear the curse of Azraias would follow. For wherever there was a human death was soon to follow. A powerful roar echoed throughout the woods, the trees bent backwards, their branches waving with surrender. Taika covered her ears, the aftershock of the noise pounded in her ears. There and behold stood the forest guardian.
The guardian a behemoth of nature stood in a protective stance, its form rose above the trees. Mountains and sky cowered. Moss was growing, protruding out the dragons back, waves of moss grew between crevices of a forest of scales. The dragon armed with tail of thorned roses. Beds of flowers mixed with the verdure of nature grew within crevices between the dragon's scales. Horns of nature jutted upwards blossoming from the dragon's skull. Blooms of Roses grew from the dragons skull. Branches of forestry protruded out the dragon's skull. The forrest guardian thundered its tail on the ground with a whip of thunder. Clouds of smoke rose from the ground. The dragon carried the wrath of nature.
The mages of shadow reeled back in retreat their wands held to their chests. The Forest guardian scraped its claws against the ground, ready to lunge forward. One of the giants positioned their weapon upwards, their eye closed with concentration. Mantras of spells fired, arrows of darkness pierced the forrest of gold. The wisps of magic called shrilly. The wizard who cast the spell was thrown back from the force their wand exerted.
The maw of smoke erupted from the mouth of the wand. What Taika assumed was an iron shell, was indeed a bullet of magic. The bullet twisted through the air with a thundering shriek. The arrows of magic lodged its way through the dragon's shoulder in fireworks of thunder. Taika tore her eyes away from the carnage. Another shot sounded. This time it ripped through the dragon's leg. Petals of roses fell to the ground with defeat. Taika shielded her eyes with the palm of her hands.
The Guardian roared with intensity, writhing its tail swung beneath the wizard's legs, the dark mages fell to the earth. Taika fled seeing the distraction of the giant's she had to warn her family, her people of the fire, of the creatures. Otherwise her village would be destroyed, Her heart a drum, adrenaline swept through her veins. The leader of the mages saw her. Fear haunted her.
The giant reached his hand down, fingers of grime enveloping Taika's waist with a grip of iron. He lifted Taika to the sky, studying her in his hand. The warlock glued his sight to her wings. Taika kicked at the hand that captured her. Taika pushed herself upwards out of the warlock's grasp. Reeling forward she bit the hand of her captor. Fingers unveiled, Taika fell to the earth. She ran curses with of profanity following her. She collided against the ground with a thud, she lifted herself running faster she ignored the rocks that lacerated her bare feet. Her wings a burden as she ran.
Taika launched herself behind a mushroom, torrents of magic fired ricocheting off the ground. Dusts of fog spilled to the air. Bullets of magic hit a mushroom in the fairy's stead. The warlock looked to the fog she was gone.
Taika focused her eyes on a hole carved a hollowed out tree. She ran into the tree, falling inside the hole that was delved under the tree. The dark mage glowered once she escaped his line of vision. Turning his back away from her, the mage kicked at a rock with his foot.
"And to think I could of had myself a nice brooch."