This story is heavily based on a game I have, you may notice as you read that some of the dialogue seems odd, cutting off at certain times or not matching the heroine's mood-that's because I took the dialogue straight from the game's script. You may even notice several qualities or moments that make it seem like a game. but That's the fun of it I suppose. Enjoy!
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Long ago, magic pervaded the world and the faeries lived among Men. they inspired countless tales and myths- 'twas an age of legends. From the isle of Avalon, King Oberon reigned over a population as diverse as the realms of Men, and every land whirred with the sound of faerie wings But Man began to doubt the Faerie Kingdom, and little by little, dismissed it as childish or demonic. Man eventually retreated into a daily routine in which magic had no place.

So Oberon decided to remove his people to the enclaves on the edges of the human world, and the faeries became no more to them than age-old memories existing only in fairy tales and the works of poets and visionaries.

But when magic left the world, the Faerie Kingdoms began disappearing one by one until one day when...

Chapter One: Avalon

I was suspended, wrapped in the warm and dark oasis of nothingness. A peaceful dark blue with distant sounds, and sometimes no sound at all. The quiet whispers never bothered me, and I knew I was safe from them, safe from the world. Part of and yet away from it all. Eventually those sounds faded and it became very quiet, and then quieter still. That was when the silence gently prodded at my soul, followed by a warm calling that bid me to open my eyes.

Doing so, my vision was covered in blue, the world around me clouded, my body held still in fine blue crystal. I looked this way, then that, blinked, and a small shudder was all it took to release me; my wings immediately filled with reflexing fluttering that held me aloft as they had what seemed like so very long ago. It was no wonder they worked after all this time, I was fae after all. Yet as my mind searched to remember where I was, Avalon, and what I was, a faerie, I could not quite remember who I was. I looked down to study my hands, a wonderful and familiar blueish magenta color that covered my freckled skin. I touched my arms and my hands as I looked over them, then looked up, touching my face in the warm sun, smooth flawless skin, long faerie fingers, the air felt good; the sun's light nourishing. I reached down to check my feet, touching my soft ankle and examining their petiteness. It felt so good to move again, but before I could be satisfied with my analysis of myself, two pixies flew round and round me before stopping to flutter before me.

“Oberon was right, the crystal broke open!” Said one, the two teeny pixies had closely cropped dark brown hair, tiny pointed ears, and bodies clad in bright orange leaves to compliment their bright monarch butterfly wings; each with one large brassy jingle bell tied to an ankle.

“Yes Naiadae has awakened!” Said the other, they were surely twins, identical in looks as in voice.

“We must take her to the King. The King wishes to speak with her,” replied the first, the King? That's right, there was a king. Something deep inside my head felt warm, ah yes King Oberon, king of the fae, my hands came to rest on my chest over my heart. Our king, such reverence I felt, I let myself enjoy that feeling, and the excitement that he wanted to see me. How curious it made me! What could he want with me?

“Yes the King awaits, but can she fly?” asked the second, interrupting my moment of nostalgia.
“I'm sure she can, you never forget how to fly even after centuries of stasis.” said the first.

“You must be right, I'm sure she'll make it.”

“Go ahead Marilou I'll stay and keep her company, we'll catch up with you.” She turned her bright orange gaze to me, “Then you may approach the King,”

“Great I'll meet you half way, don't dilly dally along the way!” Said Marilou, flitting off straight away.

I took a moment testing my wings, they were weak, had they always been so? Or had it been the time in crystal that had weakened them? Then I thought of the name they had called me. That name, Naiadae? Was that right? I registered the name, I was Naiadae. But something about it didn't feel quite right, even as logic demanded that if they knew me as Naiadae, then Naiadae I must be.

I flew to meet Marilou where she hovered, between where my crystal had been and the tower.

“What did I tell you? Of course she remembers, she flies like an eagle!” said one,

“You're right, shall I go ahead of you?” Asked Marilou,

“Yes,” replied her still unnamed sister, “We'll carry on to he peak of the tower,” then she looked to me again, “There we shall brief you on your audience with the king.”

I looked up, the most magnificent landmark on the whole of this island was the Tower of Avalon. It was on the highest rock, and reached higher than anything else. With four levels adding to its structure, each level glowed with a warm magick light, orange in color that pulsed, as if alive.

So up I flew, but I was a bit apprehensive. While I knew the King awaited me at the top of the tower, I thought to explore the lower levels first. Each level was a single round room with a glowing orange orb in the center of each ceiling. Each floor was held by pillars, some pillars had a wall between them, some did not, leaving a full opening. There were no doors, no halls, no stairs, it was meant for flying into and out of each level, not climbing or walking. However exploring was staved off, he was King and I could not fathom how long he had been waiting for me to leave that sweet crystal cocoon. Wanting to see me had to be urgent, perhaps I wouldn't have woken at all if something had not been amiss.

So I drifted upward, wary of my wings beating so hard to carry me.

The unnamed twin stopped me in mid air within sight of the king, who seemed to stare out rather solemnly over the land, not noticing myself or the orange pixies. I wanted to marvel at his presence, the sight of him wanting to capture and hold my gaze in awe. But the high, tweeting voice of the pixie stole my gaze.

“Here we are! So close to the King! You must remind her of the protocol Marilou. I never grasped all the intricacies of court etiquette.”

Marilou seemed to continue her sister's statement rather than answer it, “Our friend once knew it like the back of her hand, but we'd better go over the essentials so she doesn't make a goblin of herself!”

Her sister agreed, “What more can one expect after being in a slumber for so long?”

“Regardless,” said Marilou, “where were we? Ah yes...” She began to explain good faerie manners and such things in a voice that I barely could understand, much less treat with seriousness. My gaze swept past her to the King looking this way and that. He almost seemed anxious. Odd, if I remembered correctly fae needn't feel anxious of anything, then again, something was not quite right here.

“Choose your words carefully...” I half heard through her twittering, lost in the endless hard lines of the King's face beyond, “...enough talk! The time has come to meet the king, good luck!”

“Yes, good luck! See you soon!” said the other, and just like that they dropped below and swept themselves away somewhere out of sight. I felt as if a wall had just fallen away between the King and I, like I was exposed to a presence far superior to my own. Still he did not stare at me, though I couldn't help but allow my own crimson gaze to sweep over him.

He was regal, and solemn, his expression grave. His eyes white as snow with no pupil, a neat line of a black beard that covered only the space from his bottom lip to his chin in a thin line. He had a thin face, prominent cheekbones and long sleek black hair. He wore an amulet on his chest, a round stone with a hole through the center tied with a thin leather strip, and runes covered his arms and torso in magick so ancient that even I could not begin to fathom their purpose. While his torso was bare, he wore a cape with magnificent fur around his shoulders and the brown leather trailed down behind him, from broad shoulders to cloven-hooved feet. His most impressive aspect, however, was his crown. A magnificent sixteen point set of antlers like those of the great and mighty stag. He was a sight to behold, the King of Faery, The King of Avalon, my King.

I did not find his appearance strange or surprising at all, for in the world of fae, a fae may choose their appearance, taking bits from animals or plants into their own form as they see fit. Oberon may have chosen the likenesses of a stag because the stag is a symbol of masculinity, and nobility, the stag is prince of the forest. In the world of fae nothing looks 'strange', because there is nothing 'normal' to compare it to. Appearances simply are what they choose to be, and all things are beautiful even if Man might think otherwise.

Flitting forward, I tried not to seem intrusive. His muscled arms were crossed over his broad chest, a thick leather belt that supported a rather ornate falchion at his side told me that crossing him was not wise.

Something told me fae were not fond of clothing, or rather indifferent to it, he only wore a simple white loincloth that trailed from his belt all the way the to stone of the tower between his cloven-hooved feet.

I suddenly became aware of my own clothing. Brown leather that twisted up around my chest and neck above and broke into a short skirt at the bottom, I was also bare foot. Something told me though that my appearance would not impress nor surprise the King. And so I edged forward, doing so my presence seemed to catch his attention, as if I had entered some invisible door that caused him to notice me.

“Naiadae! Here you are, among us once again, awakened from your slumber. I am sorry to have interrupted your dreams, but I fear our need for you is grave.”

So he had been the cause of my awakening, perhaps that warm feeling that had pulled me from the calming blue had been his magick. The thought made me feel warm too, magick was a wondrous thing, even to the fae, and parts of it far more intimate than any human idea of touch.

“Why was I in stasis inside that crystal? What happened to me?” Such a blunt question without any formal addressing of the King, whatever Marilou had tried to tell me obviously hadn't stuck, but I felt relaxed speaking to him this way, and he did not seem phased, as if he had expected the informality of my tone. He uncrossed his arms and they fell by his sides.

“Do you not recall? You decided to leave us, long ago. Ah! How memory plays such cruel tricks on us when we are nestled in our own dreams.”

As he spoke I looked at the smooth curve of his pointed ears, and at the way his cheeks sunk in, as if he had been upset for a long time, so long as to prevent him from eating, even if the rest of his body showed absolutely no sign of nutritional neglect.

“Leave you?” For some reason the words flickered in my head, like such a thing was beyond comprehension, “But I was imprisoned inside a crystal, asleep...”

“You were not imprisoned,” he said, gesturing with his hands almost casually, though there seemed to be a lingering impatience behind his eyes, even as his voice spoke with calm rolling deep tones, “It was what we call 'stasis.' You remember the wizard Merlin? Weary of this world, he too withdrew, except he withdrew to the world of Men.”

I considered the fact, I had little memory of Merlin, though I knew the name. I found that inquiring about the wizard would only lead to testing Oberon's patience, so I changed the subject.

“My awakening?” I asked, and Oberon seemed content to continue,

“I summoned our magic of yore, and it was easy to break the stasis. If there had been other faerie folk asleep on Avalon, they too would have woken.” My gaze followed white yet intelligent gaze and then traveled down the chiseled length of his muscular torso.

“Why, what happened?” I asked, catching myself as my gaze flashed back up to his face, dark vertical lines of ash or perhaps ink that painted his forehead down to his cheeks, rimming his white eyes in dark pigment.

“The magic of this world has begun gradually fading. Perhaps you recall how, as you were falling asleep, the first signs of this weakening had already appeared?”

“It's all a blur, I remember nothing.”

He peered at me thoughtfully, as if the previous question had been testing my memory in general, and just how far back I could muster. I couldn't read his expression to tell if he was dissatisfied or pleased with my answer when he spoke,

“The shock of awakening was too sudden, no doubt. It will come back. Anyway the magic has faded so much that only a few worlds remain, the worlds where legends were strongest.”

His tone was calm, as if he had spent long sleepless moons coming to terms with the hard fact. I tried not to react too emotionally,

“That's terrifying,” though that seemed like an understatement, the thought of my home, of my existence slipping away so easily, felt cold and ominous; like being caught in the gaze of a wolf that glowered upon its prey with the sure confidence that it would soon taste flesh, “How do things stand today?” I asked, hoping rather futilely that the King would offer me some good news.

“The magic has sadly faded so drastically that the portholes leading to these realms of legend have also disappeared. Only three remain, and they are fading fast. If we do not act, the Faerie Kingdom will soon expire.” Again his tone was so reserved, emotionless, like the way one's voice becomes after repeating the tale of a lost love. The pain that came with telling it once seared at his heart, but now was nothing but a scar.

For me it was new, infuriating, terrifying. What did all this mean? Would we all cease to be? Why hadn't he done something?! How could he just let us all fall away? Fade into nothingness? I felt the heat burning in my cheeks, my heart beating wildly with fear and fury. I wanted to call out, it was irresponsible! Couldn't we prove to Man we still existed? Make them believe in us? Wasn't there anything we could do to stop this?

“I suppose that is why you woke me. What can I do?” My voice came out far more calmly and more rational than I felt, but something told me this was the proper way to proceed.

“You shall traverse the strongest portals to discover what has jeopardized these realms of legend so. But before doing so, you must gather companions for your journey, I could never send you alone. To do so would be folly.”

His choice of words had me feeling warm, in spite of myself. Somehow I knew he cared quite deeply for the fae, even if it was only out of a lamenting depression of knowing his kingdom and his people would disappear all together. Why then, was it only I who must do something? Hadn't he? Something flared in my memory like a flash and then it was gone, something that told me his hands were tied. But searching my mind for further explanation only resulted in staring with a frown at the brown-gray of the stone floor.

“Who do you have in mind?” In my current state, I was unsure of my own name, much less could I hope to remember anyone I knew; I hardly even remembered the King! It was best to let him tell me of anyone he thought was worthy of such a task other than myself. Or perhaps he had tasked another before me and was going to tell me to accompany another more experienced warrior.

“I have no one in mind,” his answer left me feeling a bit betrayed, like my wings had been pinched together in sap to send me tumbling to the unforgiving ground, “It is up to you to find the beings most suited for your quest. Tour the island, talk with it's folk and find two faeries who would be willing to accompany you.”

“Very well,” I said, trying not to sound disappointed, “I shall form my team.”

It was then I spotted a large wooden chest behind him. The level of the tower on which he stood was the highest, and the room was empty apart from him, the chest and the faintly glowing orange orb of light. Something about the chest pulled me to it, it sparkled with magick orbs and I had the unmistakable feeling that this chest was mine somehow, and whatever was inside of it was also rightfully mine.

Oberon's expression returned to that of grim and solemn contemplation and he crossed his arms, apparently dismissing me from the conversation. Even as I drifted past him to the chest, he didn't so much as set his gaze upon me or lift an eyebrow. What was he doing with my things? Were they even really mine? Something told me that they were, I was sure of it.

Opening it I found a matching iron bracer and arm band along with two curious potions that glinted with healing light. I took the potions and hooked them into my belt, and the bracer fit perfectly over my right forearm; it's matching armband fitting my upper left arm as well. Certainly these were mine, why else would they fit so well? Satisfied, I left through the opening opposite the King, no use flying past him and disturbing whatever held him in such a solemn state and dropped to the next level, feeling a bit more sure of my wings-though they still felt a bit wrong, too small perhaps?

The next floor down was empty, even as the floor was carved in intricate patterns, and another glowing orange orb of light glowed softly at it's center. Down again was a larger room, same light, same floor carvings but another chest that beckoned me with the same feeling of ownership. Curiously I opened it to find earthen boots and another healing potion. So I hooked the potion into place beside the others and pulled on the leafy yellow-brown boots. Perhaps I had left myself clues before my slumber to help me remember? Remember what exactly? If it was a crafty attempt, it seemed I had outwitted myself, as finding these bits of clothing did little more than help me feel more comfortable flying around an island I hardly remembered.

Down again to the bottom level of the tower, identical to the others, a small pixie clad in turquoise with light sky-blue butterfly wings flitted about the center. She gazed out at sea anxiously,

“Good day,” she said, noticing me, “and what are you doing here?”

“I am exploring. I have just awakened from stasis.” I said plainly.

“Ah! It's you! Now I understand. How can I help you?”

“I have a little something to ask you.” She was just a good a fae as any, why not ask her?

“Fire away!” She exclaimed, fiery gaze buzzing with a certain friendly fierceness that only a fae could manage.

“I am looking for someone courageous who will follow me beyond the mirrors.”

Her lips pursed, “Personally, I don't dare venture further than the tower. So to the other side of the mirrors? I know no one foolhardy enough to take that risk!”

“I'll come back later...” I said, shying from her words. Apparently the King found me 'foolhardy enough', as she had put it. But I knew I'd get no further talking to her, I wanted to explore more, see what had become of Avalon.

I had to get my bearings. The tower itself stood on a tall outcropping of stone and I was hovering high over a sea surrounded island. Large flowers and sparse, but tall grass surrounded simple houses that dotted sandy grottoes in clusters here and there around the island. Some white sands that gave way to gray rocks to separate the clusters. And it seemed a seagull kept it's nest here as well on the far part of the island where there was only rock and no houses. Somehow though, as I looked around, I felt that this island, however large for a fae, should have been far more vast. If a human were to stand upon it, they would only be able to walk perhaps ten or fifteen paces in any direction before meeting seawater. To a fae, it was still rather large, mountainous even, but to a human it would have been but a small rocky sandbar. What had happened while I was in that crystal? Had things truly fallen to such a grim state? Things were far worse than I feared.

To my right was the first few houses, almost nearing the base of the tower, that seemed a good pace to start, but then the sight of the two monarch twin pixies caught my eye. They had been so helpful when I had awakened, surely they would know something.

“Hey Marilys, there's our friend, the King has spoken to her.” Peeped one twin in her curiously squeaky voice to the other as I approached.

“Yes Marilou, she has a great mission to accomplish. It is said she shall save Avalon!” Her words made me wonder, now there was some sort of prophecy? Why hadn't Oberon mentioned that?

“Perhaps we should try to help her! Ho-hum! Would you care for our assistance my friend?”

“Yes, I wouldn't mind some answers!” Finally, answers, that sounded wonderful.

“We're all ears!” they said in unison.