It was the dead of night. Stars shone brightly across the vast expanse of the sky and the moon provided light for those who were still prowling the night. On a tall tree, a small figure could be seen sleeping inside a hole on the bark.
It was a faery, a small creature that was half the size of a man's arm. The faery had curled herself, using her bright red butterfly like wings to cover her entire body. She slept atop a hastily gathered shrub and straws which helped to warm herself a bit. She seemed rather weathered seeing her battered and torn clothes. She was also wearing armor, with a spear and shield on her side.
Like her clothes, they too have seen better days with deformities marking her armor and her shield filled with cuts and holes. She had evergreen hair with yellow highlights and a fierce, yet young appearance. A howl suddenly sounded out in the distance. The girl instantly awoken and grabbed her weapons. She then took a small peek outside and her heart immediately sunk.
They're here...
Her mind was immediately filled with dread as she stared at the creatures below her. Alfokins, mutated hunting dogs that were bred specifically to hunt the faery race. The two creatures sniffed at the air, their eyes darting from tree to tree. The faery carefully watched them, her hands tightly gripped the shaft of her spear. Suddenly, the two abominations stared directly into her eyes.
She immediately took flight, pushing through clumps and clumps of leaves. From behind, she heard the menacing yelps of the overjoyed alchemic demons. She didn't need to look back to know that the creatures were jumping from tree to tree. The heavy sound of broken branches were good enough to tell of their closing presence.
The faery immediately face them and pointed her spear at the first monster. Mana gathered at the point of the spear and immediately shot towards the closest of the two. The Alfokin dodged, its eyes filled with the excitement of the hunt. She kept shooting beam after beam, her strength failing after each blast of energy.
She knew she couldn't keep up the pace but she had no choice as the mutts were quickly gaining on her.
"Leave me alone!"
She shouted as mana once again gathered on her spear. This time, four small green shards appeared before shooting out at both monsters. The Alfokins dodged though one had managed to land its mark. The Alfokin lost its footing and began to plummet to the forest floor. The other Alfokin then managed to find a perfect branch that had the elasticity to propel itself towards the faery.
She quickly saw this and flew upwards. She couldn't help but grit her teeth as she felt a small amount of pain on her leg. Looking down, she saw that the Alfokin had managed to slice her skin. Golden blood flew out, but she didn't care as she quickly placed her shield in front of her. A yellow light then condensed from the center and in one explosive instance, blew outwards pushing her away from the Alfokins.
Of course, she knew this was temporary as the Alfokins were capable of catching up to her. Her best bet now was to make it to her destination. She felt her mana drop and the faery seemed to be struggling just to breath. Yet, even in pain, she forced herself to move forward her eyes filled with the flames of life.
Howls began to radiate throughout the forest. She cursed her luck as she had hoped to had gain distance from the monsters. The sound of rustling leaves said otherwise as the two Alfokins was once again on her tail. She couldn't help but regret her decision of crossing through the Kingdom of Ulsavo.
As a faery, her race had been hunted by the greedy kingdom as material for most of their alchemical practices. Potions, medicine, magic, technology... the alchemist incorporated faery materials into all aspect of their life. That was why half the faery population had been enslaved and kept as livestock by the kingdom. The other half roamed the land in hiding as kingdoms and nations of many would capture them and sell them to the highest bidder of the alchemic kingdom.
The faery had almost managed to pass through unseen, until she came face to face with a high tiered alchemist who was out simply collecting materials for his potions. The alchemist had seen her as high quality material and had summoned the two hunters to capture her. For three whole days, the faery had fought, hidden and ran. Each encounter with the hunters left her ragged and she could barely replenish her mana.
Her future was grim... yet, she wanted to reach it. The place her race could finally call their home. A memory suddenly surfaced from her mind.
"The dryads have returned!"
"We are saved! Quick, we must make haste!"
"No, it is not safe! Our race will be captured before we make it to their doors."
"Then we ask for their help. The dryads are considered the protectors of the forest. Surely they would help us, the keepers of the forest."
"But how? Our connection to the world is minimal at best. With the mana veins slowly disappearing, we can barely use our mana to communicate with our brethren let alone the dryads."
"Then, we send someone to ask for their aid."
"Who in their right minds would do such a thing? The mortal realm is out to extinguish our race. The moment they see any of us, our lives are practically forfeit. Add in the other dangers of the world, it is preposterous to send out even a single one of us for this mission."
The council was silent... until a single voice proudly and bravely resounded throughout the chamber.
"Then I shall go."
The lead member
"No, no, no! I am not sending my only daughter to brave the dangers of the world."
"Dad, its ok. As the next chieftain of our village, I must set an example for our brethren to follow. This... this is my chance to prove myself to both you and the village..."
From their, it was a blur of memories as she set out with a small group. She still remembered their screams as they sacrificed themselves for her safety. Before she had even made it to the alchemic nation, her group had been torn apart by a group of wyverns. They fought bravely but only three including her, had gotten out. The other two had also been killed in the alchemic nation leaving her alone to face the two Alfokins.
"Just a bit more... I feel it... I'm almost there..."
She bit her lip hard, the golden blood slowly leaked down to her chin. She once again turned around and raised her spear above her head. A yellow light surrounded her spear and huge amount of mana could be felt leaking from it. Then, with a yell, she threw it at an Alfokin who was in midair unable to dodge the attack.
It tore through the hunter, a heart size hole now occupying its center body. Guts had flown out of it with dark blood splattering the surrounding the leaves. Everywhere the blood touched, the flora would instantly sizzle and die out. The other Alfokin stared at its companion though it felt nothing. It's job was to kill and capture the faery and nothing would hinder it from doing so.
The faery felt exhausted and her eyelids felt heavy. She could barely keep herself afloat and her shield felt heavier than normal. None of that mattered to her though as the faery finally reached her breaking point. Mana coursed throughout her body and she dashed towards the Alfokin. Seeing this, the creature yelped in excitement as it opened its large maw ready to grind and crunch the tiny creature.
It never happened.
The creature didn't even know what happened as it simply disappeared like smoke to the wind. As for the faery, it didn't even register what had happened as she crashed into the ground. She was tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. She tried to open her eyes but even if she could, all she saw was the blurred colors of the world around her.
"... i want... to go home..."
Her mind was slowly becoming fuzzy. Never did she imagine that her journey would be as perilous as it was. All she wanted now more than ever was to go back to the safety of her home, under the embrace of the warmth of her family. She then felt herself being lifted up. As much as she wanted to fight, she no longer had the energy to even move a finger.
She tried to look at the figure who picked her up. Suddenly, she felt something on her body. It was warm and comfy, lulling her into a drowsy state. Slowly she fell to its sweet temptation. The dryads couldn't help but pity the small girl. Wounds covered her entire body and she was a downright mess. They quickly dressed her wounds before wrapping a blanket around her.
They then began to make their way back to Avalon. Arriving at the bridge, the group began to climb their way up. Just as they made it to the crest, the sun finally appeared over the horizon. The dryads stopped, as they watched the beautiful sunrise unfold in front of them. As tree spirits, the sun's rays energized them and filled them with strength. Their appreciation of the world extended to their fervor worship of Ferizia who had given them life to experience such events.
The ray also touched the form of the sleeping faery. Soon, a single tear fell from her eyes. It was as if the faery knew that her journey had finally ended.
Hope was found.