When the first reported species of Fae, fairies fluttering whispers of an unknown world appeared, we were filled with wonder and joy.

They were of rainbows and sparkles, yet also of disappearance and non-existence. 'Akalika'.

No one realized, until those bundles of awe and magic began to vanish away all the leaders of state that came into contact, throwing nations into turmoil and the world into chaos, ripe for the picking.

We fell for the trickery of the fae, deceived to lower our guard! No more I say!

Those creatures should have been gutted then and there, turned into the lifeblood that would fuel the best of us!

– Andre Da Vinci, CEO of FaeTech. (Excerpt from his War Speech addressed to the World, prior to the start of the Second Fae-Human War, 2823.)

***

Miles Lykaon sat at his desk, reclining on a lush leather chair as he twirled a glass of grape red Clurichaun wine. With each twirl the liquid within the crystal glass would shimmer and pulse with ethereal light, and at the exact moment that this light was at its brightest he took a small sip.

He savored the wine, gazing down, through the glass walls, upon the peaceful garden of Lykaon Manor.

It was a moonless night and the dozen or so deployed light drones, despite being less than he was used to, were entirely sufficient to illuminate the entirety of the massive garden. The exception however was the hedge maze spanning several hundred square meters and occupying a quarter of the garden.

Leafy green hedges formed the walls of this labyrinth, twisting and turning into dark paths he should’ve known as well as the back of his hand. Unfortunately, the fae empowered bramble and thistle had ruined, deformed the maze garden into something foreign to his memory, something unnatural that avoided the light from the drones despite being flown directly above.

Seeing the familiar maze in such condition, corrupted and tainted, a mere shadow of what it used to be, made Miles’ heart ache.

Whoosh!

A sudden burst of wind blasted into the room, and despite facing away from whatever it was that had rushed in, Miles was unsurprised. It was a familiar incident after all, but he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes as some of the papers on his desk were blown off, rustling into the air.

Apparently oblivious, a voice called out from the doorway, “Master Miles, Cadmus has just informed me of an intriguing rumor from the outer city. A rumor pertaining to an undefined item, supposedly capable of enhancing Faetality. I will be leaving to investigate.”

Miles calmly swiveled around, the chair turning away from the window to the interior of the study.

At the doorway was a tall elderly man, notably of Eastern descent, and despite his old age, the prudently ironed black and white suit was stretched taut over the finely built muscle underneath. Something silver, barely shimmered above his left breast pocket, but remained hidden by the collar.

This was Zhan Shen, his butler, his attendant, his guardian.

Taking another sip of the fae wine at the peak of its luminance, Miles posed a question, “Old Zhan, the maze garden is in terrible condition. When will we be cleaning up the bramble?”

The elderly butler frowned, “Master Miles, you are already aware…”

But seeing his young master remained impassive, Zhen Shen heaved a sigh, “Very well, I shall play along then.

The bramble as you so crudely put it should be a mutated variant of some lesser-known Fae fauna. Fire and metal were found to be useless as the plant regenerated almost instantaneously.

Only a unique Faehuman with the ability to manipulate plants, a master of Floramancy, would be capable of removing it permanently, leaving the rest of the garden intact that is. And considering the intensity of this unique ‘bramble’, they would also have to be quite well-achieved in the field.

Unfortunately, Floramancy happens to be rather rare in its manifestation and even rarer are those with sufficient mastery for the task.

As for the only qualified candidate for the job, the Lady of the Bloom, she happens to be firmly under your uncle’s control. And even if he were to be so ‘kind’ as to provide her service, I’m afraid he would also ensure that he bled us dry in the process.”

Miles remained silent, sipping the shimmering wine.

Indeed, the matter of the hedge maze and the fae bramble was one with no apt solution.

The crux of the solution would be a powerful Faehuman with Floramancy or some similar manifested fae ability. But there was only one that qualified in the entirety of Capital City, Lady Dice, and she just so happened to be a Faehuman trained and sponsored by his uncle.

Miles did not know the Lady of the Bloom personally but with his uncle involved, he was confident that obtaining her assistance would be next to impossible.

The only other option would be to look outside the corporate city for qualified Faehumans. But even if he called in a few favors and somehow happened to find who he was looking for, whether an accomplished Faehuman would make the long trip to Capital City just for some over-glorified gardening, was an entirely different matter.

In all honesty, this was a problem that could not be solved in the short term, not without going overboard, and Miles would simply have to stomach the unsightly Fae bramble until a proper solution was found.

So, in the end he gave a short nod and savored some more wine at the crescendo of its glow.

Meanwhile, a rather mischievous grin had formed on the old Butler’s wizened face, “Now perhaps if the young master were willing to give up some of his fae wine, some of the special collection you keep locked away, we should be able to afford a temporary solution. Although it tastes absolutely the same as every other fae wine at any shoddy street bar, the price tags are literally insane! Some of my old drinking buddies may even be motivated to help, in exchange for the wine of course.”

Miles threw a deadpan look at the cheek of his butler.

Old Zhan was suggesting his ‘drinking buddies’ destroy the bramble with their potentially, no, most definitely, destruction-oriented Fae abilities. While that would be a step above ordinary weaponry, it would be little more than a temporary solution. The regeneration of the bramble would slow down, sure, but within a week at best it would recover entirely.

He would be handing over his father’s precious wine to neanderthals blind to their true value, and what he got in return would literally become nothing in a single week.

He might as well bombard the bramble instead, and he could have, had he not wanted the hedge maze to remain in one piece.

Miles was sure that Zhen Shen had suggested this half-baked solution, merely to poke fun at his love of good wine.

Seeing his young master’s annoyance, the elderly butler’s grin only grew wider.

Miles rolled his eyes, taking another sip of his wine mostly out of spite. The familiar taste of perfectly blended fermented fruit, the sparkle of faery dust upon his tongue, relaxed him enough to return to the matter at hand, “Informant and price?”

Despite the suddenness of the question Zhen Shen’s answer was instant, everything else ignored, “Hayato Ryota, common Faetality of Eta-67. Ability-less but enhanced to the limit. And as with most outer city goons with some truth to their name, more cybernetic than man, some even of Lykaon Origin if our records are to be believed.

He was supposedly employed as a courier for the White Dragons, the Hakuryuu, arguably the most influential gang of the outer dome, the same that is rumored to have gotten their hands on the Faetality booster. Asking price, 3 million bits, any corporate bit apparently. That was unusually specified.”

Miles raised an eyebrow, “Cheap, considering the product in question. Either he’s desperate or it’s a trap.”

The butler nodded, a confident smirk rising, “Seems likely. Doesn’t hurt to check it out, however. Well, it won’t hurt me.”

It was Miles’s turn to heave a sigh. Despite being in his late sixties, Zhan Shen had a strong affection for fighting. Not spectating, but active participation.

However, unlike his butler, he was not in the habit of making fun of people for their preferred hobbies. Thus, he simply raised his wine glass and toasted him well, “Happy hunting then.”

Zhen Shen tipped his head, “As you say Master Miles but…”

The old butler’s eyes shifted towards a wooden filing cabinet, tucked away in a corner of the study. Or more specifically the closed suitcase placed atop, covered in a thick layer of dust.

“But the problem at hand is of greater importance. By the time I get back, could you please choose your first serum? Those are just a couple of enhancement serums making the decision not even as important. It has already been a few months since they were purchased, should you not at least take a look? Where’s your sense of curiosity when you need it, eh?”

Miles was silent, merely sparing a glance at the briefcase and nothing more.

Zhen Shen pressed on, “You really should not worry Master Miles. There is no conclusive evidence that proves the use of a Fae serum will plateau growth in Faetality.”

To that Miles replied, his eyes sharp, “Likewise old Zhan, there is no conclusive evidence that proves use of serums do not plateau Faetality growth.

You yourself tend to dislike Cyberware, do you not? If embedded circuitry, of fae origin or otherwise, is derogatory, what gives you the confidence that synthesized liquid Fae are any exception?”

The old butler shook his head in annoyance, more than familiar with his young master's stubbornness on the topic of Fae Serums.

This was a matter they had debated over a few times, never once ending in agreement.

Zhen Shen knew this, and so did Miles.

Neither were in the mood for the same old back-and-forth and thus almost in tacit understanding, remained silent.

In the end it was Zhen Shen that threw the hat, opting to be the better man.

“As you wish Master Miles but at the very least open it. Surely, no self-respecting Lykaon would be afraid of taking a look?”

And with those final words of challenge, the old butler bowed in farewell, left palm meeting right fist, and vanished, seemingly dissipating into the air.

Miles remained at his desk, silent, as he savored the Clurichaun wine. His ears however were peeled for the sound of the main door opening and closing.

Moments later, he heard it, confirming that old Zhan had left.

Now alone in Lykaon mansion, Miles couldn’t help but spare another glance at the closed briefcase.

Despite the contents being worth its weight in fae gold, he had left it untouched all this time exactly where Zhan Shen had left it.

As much as Miles hated to admit it, Zhan Shen had piqued his curiosity. And with that final comment, he had been left with little choice. The old butler sure knew how to push his buttons.

Gracelessly gulping down what was left of the wine, Miles walked over to the cabinet, grabbed the briefcase and dropped it onto his desk in a plume of dust.

Waving his hand, he unlatched the lock and pushed it open to reveal a high-quality black Styrofoam base. Embedded in this soft foam were six syringes of colored liquids. Three green and three purple.

The liquid bubbled with supernatural energy similar to that of the wine he had just finished, but far greater in intensity. A roar compared to the trickle of the alcohol.

Miles couldn’t help but take a second glance at what was arguably, the current world’s most intricate and sought-after biological weapon, the Fae Serum.

Despite his ‘bad blood’ with FaeTech, if it could even be called that, Miles could not help but be impressed by the sheer ingenuity of Andre Da Vinci, the creator of the first fae serum.

When the majority of the world had spit on and spurned the discarded corpses of the Fae that they somehow managed to take down, Andre had seen hidden potential.

Well, he may not have been the only one who saw this potential, but he was the only one who had succeeded in utilizing it. He had been a trailblazer and single handedly changed the fate of humanity, shifting the tides in a lost war.

Miles had many opinions on many people but in regard to Andre Da Vinci all he had was respect, potential business rivalries excluded.

Returning to the fae serums before him, he focused on the small labels printed onto the carbon glass syringes.

A green serum read, “GS-001. Gnome tier Strength enhancement (+1) Serum. Requirement of 6 Faetality for use.”

While a purple serum read, “SI-001. Sprite tier Intelligence enhancement (+1) serum. Requirement of 5 Faetality for use.”

If what was printed on the labels were to be believed, the three green syringes were Gnome Tier Serums, each enhancing the three physical attributes Strength, Agility, or Endurance, while the three purple syringes were Sprite Tier Serums each enhancing the three mental attributes Intelligence, Wisdom, or Influence.

Faetality, on the other hand, was a qualitative statistic that determined the quantity and tier of serums that could be used by a single individual, without quite literally being “fatal”.

Miles paused in thought, finally sparing a somber glance at the prismatic glass slate at a corner of his spacious desk.

With a single tap on the black glass, and a confirming beep from the ring on his right index finger, the slate lit up with neon-blue text revealing the results of his latest attribute test, or atleast a compact summary of the in-depth report.

[Patient: Miles {Redacted}

Status: Ordinary Human, Unenhanced.

Fae Ability: None

|Natural Attributes|

Physical: Strength - 12, Endurance - 14, Agility - 13

Mental: Intelligence - 59, Wisdom - 37

Available Faetality: 997]

A Faetality of 997. This put him firmly on the upper tier of Zeta, a mere 3 points short of reaching Epsilon, a mere 3 points short of safeguarding his birthright.

Honestly speaking, a faetality of Zeta-997 was well above average and would’ve been cause for celebration in any ordinary family. To demonstrate, if Miles wished, he could easily use all 6 serums before him with plenty of Faetality left to spare.

In fact, the Gnome and Sprite Tiers, while acceptable, were not even the best he could use. The tier above, Goblin and Pixie Fae Serums were the go-to for Zeta Faehumans.

But to Miles it had never been about the serums. Without the three points he needed to reach a thousand, his faetality was utterly worthless. This was why he could not afford to use a serum and risk hindering his faetality potential…

Feeling that familiar but despised feeling of helplessness creeping upon him, Miles slammed the briefcase close.

His hands tightened over the handle as he inhaled deeply.

He had done what Zhan Shen had asked and taken a look. But as he had expected it changed nothing. All it had done was give him a punch of reality to the gut.

Miles exhaled slowly as he rose from his seat, speaking into the air, “Cadmus, prepare the gymnasium. I shall be there shortly.”

There was no reply but for another affirmative beep from the distinctive ring on his hand.

Miles walked out of his study, his destination obvious. He seriously needed to let out some steam.