Mystic Faerie War

by James Day

  Now that was all some kind of memory and nothing would replace the life they had built together and the raising of their daughter. Noleann remained a Bounty Huntress at heart, she practiced every day and still could read the signs and find people. She played that game with her daughter teaching her to read people’s movements in the forest.

  They went deeper into the woods as the groans of the forest became louder and they both knew something was wrong. It was an unnatural feeling. She went over to a mound and notice a blue sparkle come forth; it was a Silverthread. It flittered and fluttered all around the mound as it scattered fairy dust for them to follow. Prince Grandur and Noleann grasped the pommels of their swords and waited for an attack. From what she could read, no one had come this way or to the outskirts of the garden. She remembered the tales of the Silverthreads, mystical faerie creatures that played tricks on Humankind. Her cousin Dayven had encountered one in his younger days but did not speak much about it. He had learned an ancient faerie magic called the Dragons Breath that was supposed to whisk you away to different places in Faerie realm. From what Noleann had been told the one he met was cruel and punishing, but he had succeeded in passing the test given to him and left the World of Fae.

  Another Silverthread appeared buzzing around a mound which had blue light. Could it be she pondered, was it a faerie mound come to life? She had heard about them in fairy tales and children’s books, but never honestly believed in them, but now they were flying around as they moved closer to a mound. Bright green light flared from it as they peered down, but nothing was there, and the light faded.

  “We didn’t imagine that,” Prince Grandur grasped her hand. “Something is going on that we quite don’t understand.”

  “I think they are trying to show us something or tell us something,” Noleann took a deep breath. “Let’s follow and see where they lead us.”

  The forest was pitch black as they moved, and Bounty Huntress moved forward watching the stars in the sky. It was a clear night and something devious was about to happen. Whatever it was, they would have to return to the King and report it and ready the Kingdom for assault. But was there an assault?

  The forest moaned again as green light danced throughout the trees, they seemed to bend and twist with a moan as if coming to life. The Silverthreads sparkled dust forward that left a trail for them to follow. Then something happened.

  A red fire exploded from one of the mounds. It skyrocketed upward as something hideous began climbing out. The Silverthreads were caught in the flames and their lives extinguished.

  The creature was all red with bushy black eyebrows and dark coals for eyes. It had claws for hands and hooves for feet. It was half goat and half man. Horns stuck out of the sides near the temples like a bulls. It sniffed the air and moved fast and graceful. Then it stopped again.

  Noleann and Prince Grandur hid behind a great oak as it stopped to take a drink of water from a huge mud puddle. It could see a reflection in the water and sneered. Suddenly fire erupted from the claws, red and green as it screeched in the night. The puddle and ground all around singed black, then a twig snapped behind it.

  The duo had been found. It moved like a deer charging at them and stopped at the tree as the couple made their way over to next tree. The huge oak protected them as the Bounty Huntress felt something strange welling up inside of her. It was the Mystic blood fire in her being. The faerie magic was coming to life and she did not know what to do. She did not have the Staff of Power to direct her own mystical powers at the creature. Dayven had given it to her to practice as a conduit to control her magic, but now this was different. They were truly in danger and there was no one to help them.

  The Fire Imp came around and no one was behind the tree, it grunted and squawked for a moment, sniffing the air for any prey that was nearby. The dark coal eyes scanned the darkness with determination, then it saw a flicker of green past a few trees. It moved quickly with stealth and silence and slammed into the wooden oak, fire taking out part of the bark. Nothing was there Further down, the forest groaned in a sound of creaking wood. It was leading the Imp away from the two travelers. Light danced in the distance as it ran through the forest and disappeared in the night.

  Noleann and Prince Grandur leaned against an oak. She was breathing heavily, and her clothes were soaking wet in a sheen of sweat. The Prince held her hand as he inched to look around and noticed it was gone. She had fought the instinctual urge to protect them with the Mystic blood fire. She was ready to use the magic at all costs even if it meant destroying the creature, but she did not know how to defend the Prince. He could have been killed during the battle. She wondered where Dayven was and wished he were here. She had no answers. What was that thing? Why did it show up in Shannon? What was it doing?

  She turned around and tree behind them glowed green which became brighter and brighter. The couple stepped back as a ghostly form came to them. It was the shade of an Elven Spellmaker. He stepped forth, his face dull and eyes dark.

  “Here me, the Faerie War is beginning. It will destroy the forests of new and old. Find the Mystic, he can assist. He has the power of Dragonspeak.”

  “Who are you?” Prince Grandur asked.

  “I am Spellmaker Flint and we are bound to the forest. Find the dragons of old, search out the Mystic for a war is coming.” He began fading back into the green light as it wrapped around the trunk of the oak and disappeared. They stood in silence pondering what they had just seen. Dayven had told them the tale where Flint had bequeathed to him the Hearthstone Sword and died in a battle. He had been an ancient Spellmaker, but why appear to them.

  “Was he talking about your cousin, Dayven?” Prince Grandur asked Noleann as she kept an eye out for the thing hunting in the forest.

  “I don’t know. Dayven does know anything about dragons except the one we encounter while fighting the Crimson Seekers.”

  “Yes, and that one was destroyed when the Hearthstone Sword was reunited with the mother.” The Prince continued. “We better get back and post extra guards. I do not want anyone in the forest. It is too dangerous. We must send word to Mayens Hall and find out what Dayven has to say.”

  “We have not messaged each other in six months. I do not know where he is?” she said sadly. “He has not even seen her in year. He is involved in the affairs of the Shannon.”

  “Maybe he knows about this so-called war that is coming to Shannon.” The Prince wrapped his arm around her as they ran through the forest toward the gates of the garden.

  When they returned, they explained everything to King Grandur, and he did not know what to make of the entire situation. For a few weeks, the forest had been groaning and creaking as if it were speaking to them. Now the shade had come to tell them of some impending war. And what of the dragons? None had been seen since the Zandu War according to King Grandur. The only one who may know was her father, Allenor or Uncle Dunnganon and she needed to send word to Mayens Hall.

  They went high up to the castle torrents where the crows were kept for messaging. She wrote two letters and turned the small paper and attached to the leg of the crow. One flew off. Then she took a second message and attached it another crow and it flew off. One message had been sent to the Mystics at Mayens Hall and the other to the Elves of Fallsridge. Maybe they knew something about the creature and a dragons. It was then the Prince decided to go down into the archives. Noleann left him and wanted to be with her daughter for protection. She kissed him gently on the cheek and let him go to archives library.

  The Prince went down into the northern tower and searched the archives room. It was a tremendous room full of shelves with scrolls and books that had been transcribed. All the rich history had survived the Reunion War when the castle burnt to the ground. Only a few rooms had been spared the library was one of them. He lit a candle and a torch on the wall. Then he went around and lit the three other torchers to bring full light into the darkened room. He searched shelves and found the ancient texts and scrolls on t
he Zandu War. The writings had been sketchy at best. The Mystics had kept full records at the time and the Kingdom of Shannon was only able to record some of the reports that the Kingdom had received. He searched through them for Dragonspeak and did not find anything. He then searched for faerie magic and found that Hearthstone Sword was made of faerie magic and its main purpose was to propagate the World of Faerie, but men had corrupted the sword and it killed the Kings and made them Wraiths to walk the earth until the Promise was restored. That was done years ago and nothing about dragons had been found. It only mentioned that the war had been fought in separate battles. The Zandu army had been defeated. Then he found something interesting. It was a battle that took place over dragons. They had to defeat the dragons, or the Kingdom would fall. It talked about a Mystic named Pelt, but there was no mention of Dragonspeak. Then a thought occurred in his mind, they would need a weapon like the Hearthstone Sword to defend against the faerie magic in the Kingdom of Shannon. The Mystic Dayven carried the Staff of Power and Noleann had used it against the Crimson Seekers in her war against an ancient evil called the Destroyer. That was chronicled perfectly, the battle and who had been there at Mayens Hall. What had happened, but still the those who did battle did not destroy the magic they kept if from spreading. It was recounted that Dunnganon had become twelve, but the reasons and how were not recorded. A secret, he said to himself. Quaid had been restored to his youth and the Blue Star that Noleann held had been returned to him. Iclandia held that weapon to make sure no one ever used it again.

  He searched more in the archives of the Zandu War, but nothing was there, just the battles, names, and victories. He read about descendant of Brea’s, Pelt who had succeeded in destroying the dragons during the war. It was all sketchy and old notes that were aging and disintegration through the process of time were between the pages of empty books. Prince Grandur went to see he who the original Mystics that fought in the battle, there was Dunnganon, Allenor, Pelt, Flinn, Esbin and Zandu. The other gnomes and dwarves and Spellmakers were mentioned. Then he found proof, a Spellmaker named Flint had been at the war. The Elves had assisted. This was indeed the shade that had told him about the Mystic with the dragons and a possible faerie war in the future. As Dayven had recalled, he had returned his spirit to the forest where all Spellmakers were bound.

  That was it.

  They were bound to the forest. It was their call that had been echoing throughout the woods for three weeks. The strange happenings and dancing Silverthreads.

  Confounded, he said under his breath as he searched more on Pelt and found nothing. Was he the Mystic, they had to find who was the Dragon Mystic? None of the Mystics ever mentioned him, even Dunnganon had never brought him up in any conversation.

  Mystic Allenor was gone and had disappeared a while ago. No one knew his whereabouts. He had simply taken off one day and vanished. After the war with the with Crimson Seekers he had revealed that he was in fact Noleann’s father, that Dunnganon was her uncle. It was a family affair and to make matters worse O’Dea an assassin who was supposed to have died was actually a Mystic and was somewhere out there. He had brought Noleann up and taught her all of her fighting skills as a Bounty Huntress. But O’Dea and Allenor were gone and Mystic Dayven and Dunnganon had no idea where they were.

  If only he could figure out a way of finding this other Mystic Pelt. Was he still alive? Did he hold the power to stop the upcoming war? Was the war to be fought with Dragons? He asked himself. There was no way the Kingdom of Shannon could stand up to faerie magic or Dragons if they attacked. They had no powers only the Mystics of Mayens Hall, Dunnganon and Dayven.

  Once more, a war was coming to the Kingdom of Shannon, but then it could be stopped, the Prince surmised.

  The Hearthstone Sword.

  But that had been returned to the fires. Was it possible that they could make another journey for Fire Rock Crater to retrieve the ancient talisman? Would it still corrupt those who used it? There had to be another answer. The winds blew and furnace below came on as Prince Grandur continued further into his studies. Could a new sword be made to protect the Kingdom of Shannon? Could the Sword of Shannon somehow be forged through magic to defend the Kingdom against a new threat? All of the questions posed a problem, there were not enough answers for them. He surmised that faerie magic was needed to forge a new sword to defend against faerie magic. He realized that the Mystic Dayven and the Mystic Dunnganon would only hold those answers.

  He grew tired as predawn opened with a slight blue tint to the windows. He had been there all night searching for answers. Exhaustion plagued his mind as he read Dayven’s first encounter with the Silverthread. It was a being of Fae, but also human and very devious. Would the Silverthread hold the answers?

  Could the Silverthread help in forging a new Sword of Shannon to defeat the oncoming armies of the creatures of faerie? That was the answer and he needed to find out as soon as possible. He did not know where to start only that a spell call the Dragons Breath would possibly summon the creature.

  Noleann, his mind flashed.

  She held the power inside, maybe she could call upon the Silverthread to help. He did not want to put her in that uncomfortable position. He needed to find another way. How could they reach the Faerie Kingdom? Was it even possible at this point to do it?

  He read over Dayven’s encounter and summation again and again, but he had left pieces of it out for some unknown reason. He explained that he had been transported to different places and shown the past, present, and future. He said a mythical King assisted him but would not reveal the name or the place. He only called it the Place of Past, but that had ended when the Hearthstone Sword was returned to the fire.

  The Hearthstone Sword was the only thing that would defend against such an attack and already something evil had come forth from the Fae mounds to destroy entrance to Shannon.

  He gathered up his things and blew out the candles and put out the torchers as the sun rose. He would enter the forest with that thing roaming around. He needed to find a Fae mound to see if he could get some answers.

  No one had ever seen the World of Faerie and Dunnganon recalled being banished there with his defeat against Zandu during the Zandu War.

  The Prince left the castle and headed into the forest quietly when he saw that Noleann had peered out the window and seen him running. He did not have time to explain it all to her, and he did not want to get her involved in the magic. She had the army and their Princess to take care of her. How he missed her putting his daughter to bed last night. He wished he could have been there, but more things were pressing. He did not even tell the guards that he was going into the oak forest once again. He just went.

  He searched deeper and deeper looking for burn mark. Then he found it. It was on top of a mound that looked like a gigantic ant hill. Last night the Silverthreads had danced alongside them. He then ran a few leagues down and came to another mound, this one was fresh and not burned. He wondered if this was a Fae Mound. Would the creatures that lived within be able to assist him in his quest? Were they the enemies? Prince Grandur then thought about it, there was Six Providences and one of them was faerie. The demons had come out their Providence, but where were the faerie folk?

  Then he smelled smoke and fire. He ran toward it as he approached the farmers home and land on the outskirts of Shannon. The cornfields were ablaze, and the house was on fire. He ran around the smoke in a panic to see if the old man that lived there was still alive. He entered the farmhouse and it half of it was burning. Then in the yard, he found the old farmer, his face burned off and throat slashed as if something devilish had attacked. Was it that creature that they had avoided last night? Was it responsible for this? He examined the livestock, all of the hens and roosters had been killed, torn to shreds. The horses lay dead in their corral, their heads burned, and bodies nearly torn apart.

  “Payne Axel!” Prince Grandur turned around at his birth name and peered into the eyes of Noleann who looked at the dest
ruction of the farm. She did not have to say a word and she led him away from the farm back toward the forest. The fire was going out as it collapsed, and cornfield was gone. Blackened ash was all that remained. Death and destruction had come to the Kingdom.

  “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?” The Princess said curtly to her husband.

  “I did not want to worry you. I found a lot out,” he yawned in disgust as they both went back into the forest. Then they heard a howling a sort of grunt. Both froze in place. The thing had returned. It scampered along the forests almost invisible to the eye. They watched it and new that it was going to attack. The Prince and Princess unsheathed their swords as a grunting was heard from the north. Then it came from the south, then the east. It was circling them, waiting for the kill.

  Noleann’s Mystic blood fire began burning as she pinpointed the monster, it waited in a gorge staring at the two. It was ready to attack once again. Then it charged at them, full force. Within seconds, it would be on them. Prince Grandur reeled his sword as it passed by bowling him over. The Bounty Huntress stood near him and realized that if it knocked her down that would be the end. It would summon the fire and kill them while down. She listened to the forest as her elven ears picked up the sound of the beast. Then it was almost on top of her.