Chapter 1

When you hear of the Fae - Fairies and Elves- you think either of cute little pixies fluttering happily around humans, small creatures that let you fly with the power of love and friendship. Or of elves, the peaceful and ethereally beautiful humanoids with long ears, experts in archery and protectors of mankind.

That is Wrong.

Modern Humans have lived so long with the Disney interpretation of the Fey that it seems almost impossible to see them as Evil. That's so fucking wrong. Underneath all the glamour all you will find is a being whom finds empathy as an alien concept and human life as nothing more than a plaything.

That is why I'm freaking out.

Anything the Fey do "for" a mortal - or anything that a mortal "takes" from the Fey must be paid by kind; And they are the ones who determine the exchange rate. If there is one simple fact about the Fae that gives me a bit of relief is the fact that as alien as they are; They have rules and their word is binding. Do not accept anything from them and don't offer them anything. Talk as little as possible with them, never say "thanks" or show gratitude, and you might escape somewhen with your soul intact.

Hence keeping the above in mind you might find the fact that waking up in a chamber filled with tiny multicolored fairies of every kind completely horrifying. Just the fact that I didn't woke up in my bed should be bad enough. This? This fills me with dread.

The one and most important thing that you must remember about the Fey is this: Eldritch Horror is not a term coined by H.P. Lovercraft, Eldritch literally means Elven. Have you ever heard of his works? They aren't anywhere near the worst that one can expect of the Fae.

Looking around, I do feel least little relief that the only Fey I can see are the small ones. In J.M. Barrie words (author of Peter Pan) they are just like Tinkerbell, too small to feel more than one feeling at a time. And if I were to guess, at the moment they are not angry. Instead, their giggles and laughter either means that I'm completely fucked and they are enjoying the schadenfreude, or I just arrived and they are curious and laughing about me. I hope it's the latter one.

I haven't moved since I woke up, afraid of getting their attention, expecting that all of this is a dream. But the reality of what is happening hits me as time passes. A certain atmosphere of breathless and indescribable power starts filling the chamber as the small fey start leaving. Just in time for an eager and alien enthusiasm and fascination for the black abyss, of experiencing the inexplicable -against all rational thought- starts to burrow into my mind.

Against both instinct and rational thought I raise myself into a sitting position, and see my surroundings. They are nothing extraordinary by themselves, until now I hadn't realized I was in some sort of garden. It was a small chamber with a single tree, some flowers decorating the impossibly green grass to mitigate the monotony and wooden table with two chairs next to them. There is also a square Chinese lantern suspended from a strange hook that gives me the impression of a stave and not some mundane decoration.

Still, that was the only thing that could be considered normal, for a corona of green mist surrounds the lantern, offset only by the glowing -Alien- green light of the lantern itself. The only light inside this strange subterranean chamber. A Light that calls to me and makes that strange feeling of keen enthusiasm burrow deeper into my physique.

And as I stand up all the small Fey grow quiet, the complete silence making me shudder, making me notice the inhumanly beautiful woman sitting on one of the chairs. Red ethereal hair -glowing red in contrast to the lantern's green- being her most notable feature along a smile that fills me with horror.

"Please take a seat, be my guest." were the words that came out from her mouth, yet they were not in any language that I could recognize. They were compelling and something that you simply don't hear with just your ears. I simply nodded and walked there as somehow, in the blink of an eye, a large variety of meats, bread, butter, pickles, cheese and, of course, tea appeared on the table. I Refused to look at them, even as my stomach cried with hunger.

"Why me?" I asked as I sat down across her.

"The human race is quite fickle, and a curiosity for me, especially those of you living in those "cities" of yours. You especially caught my attention; When you were a child I constantly saw you near my forest. You may not remember, but I owe you a favor." The growing smile on her face as she told her tale made me shiver.

"Wha-"

"You now live a life of infinite numbers, endless calculations, countless hours of reading, and remarkably few words. Your race is social by nature, yet you now seek comfort in loneliness while dreaming of fantasy and adventure."

"He-!" I shouted and attempted to stand up, but a single flare of her power and a glare made me immediately halt. I raged. Quietly. In my mind. A smug smile appeared on her face. That power made me feel so insignificant, so powerless. It even scared all the other fey away.

"Now you have ruined the mood... Anyway, what was your name? You never gave it to me and I can't keep calling you human after all!" The suddenly whiplash of emotions surprised me and in reflex I almost said my true name.

"Ma-" But then I remembered, names have power, if I give my name to the Fey she would literally own my being. Quickly thinking an alternative I decided to use the nickname I used on most of my internet accounts.

"My name is Levhitor, and yours?" Raising an eyebrow she replied in kind.

"Samhradh..." and as she said it I felt the power in the name. It felt strangely like the reassurance of a familiar hand on my skin, a summer afternoon, and a diabolic fire. And then she giggled. "Oh dear Levhitor, Levi, my dear. I wish you replied in kind and told me your real name. But Levi, honey, this will do for now." For a second I could swear that she looked at me with a wistful smile. I don't think she can even feel like that, so probably it was my mind. "So darling, why don't you have something to eat, and let me serve you some tea? You must be hungry and thirsty after all."

"No." was my simple answer, said in complete deadpan. She laughed.

"I forget your love for words and tales, you certainly must have heard about the Fey! But fear not, be my guest and have some food drink." I simply raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to bargain with me, or is it a gift?"

"It's just some food and a drink, why would I?

"Are you trying to bargain with me, or is it a gift?" I repeated again as her smile grew wider.

"Please, as If!" She said in mock horror. I really wasn't sure what that meant.

"Are you trying to bargain with me, or is it a gift?" I asked for a third time and last time, since a thrice asked question must be answered in true by the fey. She laughed so much she had tears on her eyes; Surprising me as I believed she would be annoyed. It took her a few moments to calm down.

"Oh my darling, I was certainly bargaining with you, but now: Feel free to take as much as you want. They contain no potions nor poisons and the price has already been paid!" That definitely caught my attention and made me rise an eyebrows as I immediately started to collect some pastries on a plate to fight the extreme hunger I was feeling.

'Th-" I caught myself just in time "Tha... That was unexpected. So what made you change your opinion of me?

"Darling, you certainly have changed" there was something humane in the way she said it. It was unpleasant "You know the order of the world, the laws of the Fey and have the courage to force an answer out of me." She looked at me and with a wave of her hand filled my cup with tea. "My dear, tell me: Why do you love to read so many stories and tales? Are not the dreams of poets and the tales of bards and writers notoriously false?" She certainly had whiplash in her emotions and train of thought. Still, I'd rather not try to understand an Eldritch Abomination and just content myself with not making her angry.

"They may be false, but well… I like them." and then her words came back into my mind, and they touched something deep inside me as I felt the need to reply "Sometimes… when you lose yourself in routine and constancy, in boredom and apathy, one wishes for the occasional piece of fiction, to remember the nuances, the subtleties which we assume accessorize our days and try to think they may be there for a much large and noble cause. I read to escape not from life but to live a life more satisfying than my own drab version." She simply gave me a smile.

"Would you like to escape your life? To go live an adventure?" She asked coyly. I sagged a little, knowing that at the very least I would never see my old life again. The fact that I was dining with a fucking fairy just now really registering on my mind.

"Do I have a choice?"

"There is always a choice."

"Do I have the choice of returning to my life?"

"Eight years ago you lost that option, It just took me some time to gather everything to fulfill my debt and obligations." Now the dread that filled me when I arrived returned, I knew not what this meant. I was terrified.

"Do not fear and hear me. That's all I ask." That did not reassure me at all. She stood up, took the strange hook holding the lamp (and as I thought it was a stave) and strangely kneeled besides me. Looking directly at my face with a serious expression, she took my hand. And for a second I froze in complete and utter terror even as my body betrayed me to sight of such ethereal beauty.

"Thrice to thine and thrice to mine and thrice again, to make up nine. I give you this ring in remembrance of a debt past, a symbol of an obligation that is complete, beautiful and endless just as the Sun's light." Her voice washed over me, a strange square and green ring now on my left hand ring finger.

"Wh-What is this…?" I said in a shaky voice, hundred of horrible thoughts passing through my mind.

"It's just a ring to tame this staff's light. In here," she said giving a small shake to the staff "resides the magical conflagration known as the Flame of Life; Corrupted by the Guardians and bent to the will of the Green light." I honestly didn't knew what that meant for me. Fey don't give anything away for free, and this appeared to be something powerful. Yet she said this was a debt past?

"Now, let's continue shall we?" she stated, taking my hand and gently handing me the staff. My hands were clenching the staff and my knuckles were white in stress. "Do not fret, all mine are Thine, and Thine are mine." she said in a very strange act of... empathy? The implications of her words now really making me wor-

She kissed me.

The Eldritch Horror kissed me and I felt my soul burn. I felt a flame igniting itself in my soul, changing it, making me scream as my being itself got burned and twisted in unimaginable ways. It was over in a moment that lasted for eons.

"The fuck was that!" I shouted just to find no one in the clearing. I was left alone with a strange lantern and a ring. I needed to rest, to collect my thoughts and… No, if I slept inside a Faerie Mound I would probably die a horrible death. "Calm yourself, there are no more faeries. Collect your thoughts." I repeated the mantra slowly as I nibbled some of the remaining snacks.

Looking at my left hand I studied the ring. It was a large rectangular green ring showing a circle within a circle. The lantern and ring combo for some reason reminded me of the Green Lantern Corps. Yet they were magical and the Fae can't lie directly. In jest I stated out loud:

"Ring, any Idea how to get out of here?"

Not surprisingly the ring did not reply. Surprisingly, I got a feeling from the Lamp. It didn't reply, but it felt like it was trying to communicate. I looked curiously at the lamp, it was a gift of they fey… Yet it may be my only chance of leaving this place. Prodding the connection to the lamp, I started to receive a nudge, a feeling of how to use it.

I was already as fucked as one could get and staying here could only make it worse. Silently praying to go somewhen reasonable after this; I let the lamp's power flow. It filled me, made me feel whole and powerful. And as I let the instincts the lamp was feeding me take over, a flash of green was all I could see for a second. The next I appeared on top of a building.

Barely holding myself from shouting in joy to the heavens for appearing somewhen in the modern world, I looked around. Where was I? When was I? I think I will start freaking out now