Part 1:
The Fae King
"You mean, we're going on an adventure?" Thomas grinned as he packed his travel bag.
"No, we're going to locate a new home for our people. It's not a game this time, Tommy," Johnathan said firmly. "We can't stay here, you understand this as well as I."
"Doesn't make it any less of an adventure, Jonny. We're going to explore distant lands, probably untouched by humans. We'll maybe fight monsters and escape deadly danger by the skin of our teeth!"
Johnathan sighed. "Just finish packing."
The next morning, before the sun was even beginning to peak over the horizon, Johnathan and Thomas were standing at the side gate from the Wsenes capitol. The were awaiting Nyllay, who Merlin assured them would meet them before the first ray of sun broke the skyline.
"I've never met a dragon before. Plenty of fae, but no dragons. They're incredibly reclusive." Thomas had always been a nervous talker, and had been whispering about dragons to an overly-awake Johnathan.
"That is because we find humans generally irritating."
The two young men jumped at the sudden appearance of the silhouette. It was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman—neither the voice nor the thin shape gave away anything.
Johnathan recovered more quickly than Thomas. "Hello. I am Johnathan Pendraco. I assume you are Nyllay?"
The "man" nodded. "I am. Now follow, we must be off."
Johnathan mounted, Thomas scrambling to follow suit. Nyllay took off, running, and the two friends spurred their horses into following. Nyllay was clearly not at full speed, allowing the them to keep pace. The rode most of the morning, taking the occasional break to rest the horses.
As the light grew, Johnathan observed Nyllay when they took a break. Long, coppery hair. Matching eyes. It was genderless in every sense of the word, and Johnathan didn't want to be rude and ask.
Thomas talked incessantly. Meaning no more than normal. Johnathan wasn't sure where the boy had all that energy, but he wasn't sure he actually wanted to know. Nyllay, on the other hand, hadn't spoken since they began the journey. When they stopped for the night, he vanished into the dark, reappearing in time to relieve Thomas of the midnight watch.
And it continued like that for weeks. The only thing that changed was the terrain. They passed through various kinds of land, many that Johnathan had only ever read about in books. Murky bogs with creatures glittering in the dark distance, attempting to lead the travelers astray—and they nearly succeeded once with the easily distracted Thomas, who had been saved by Nyllay pulling him back to the thin trail, though the horse was lost. The desert, rocky and filled with sparse, grey habitation and poisonous creatures. The oceans glittered in the distance as they trekked through a mountain range. Finally, the reached a place that felt more familiar to Johnathan.
Of course, the woodlands he grew up with didn't have trees a hundred feet high. Or a thrum of magic that even he, who had not a drop in his blood, could feel. Thomas found himself filled with a new energy as the magic in the wood harmonized with his fae blood.
Nyllay was still silent. They traveled towards the heart of the woods, closer to the source of magic. Johnathan kept seeing things out of the corner of his eyes, and he was convinced they were various sorts of fae. What else could they be?
Then one day, Nyllay spoke to Johnathan. "This is as far as I will take you. The fae court of this area is nearby, merely a day's journey off. You will have to bargain with them if you wish to use this land for your people. The boy's fae blood will sense the entrance. Stand nearby and ask for an audience with the fae king, Oberon. A go-between will question you, and decide if you are worthy to meet the king." And then, Nyllay darted into the woods, almost too fast to be seen.
Thomas cracked a joke about how if this was all they had to do, then it would be easy, because Johnathan was the most charming lad among their people. The joke comforted him none.
"Come on," Johnathan said. "The swifter we are, the sooner our people can be safe."
And he sent his horse into a canter, to follow Thomas, who'd taken off running—following his instinct to the faeland entrance.
By the next morning, the two of them reached their destination.
"It's here. Try summoning a fae," Thomas suggested.
Johnathan cleared this throat and took a breath. "I am Johnathan Pendraco, crown prince of a people without a kingdom, son of Arthur Pendraco, who lives no longer. I wish to seek an audience with King Oberon, the leader of these fae lands."
"Hmm, a prince whose people lack a kingdom? That's new," a feminine voice hummed in amusement. "What would you want the fae for, hmm? Don't you know it is dangerous for non-magical folk to interact with us?"
Johnathan made sure to control his breathing. He needed to appear calm, collected. "It is dangerous for any of human blood, magical or not. And I may not have magic, but many people I care about do. My aunt Morgana le Fae and her son Mordred le Fae, both killed for their magic. My father's mentor, the great wizard Merlin Emrys, who took the people of magic to another land to protect them, and who brought them back when the place of safety was safe no longer. My closest, dearest friend Thomas of Woodaren, who stands here with me. And most of my people—men, women, children who possess gifts of magic. Magic that has caused them much persecution by those who fear it. I wish to speak to your king in hopes of protecting them, for they are innocent and do not deserve the misery they have been burdened with. It is them I am here for, not myself."
"Interesting." A woman, ageless but clearly not youth, walked into the clearing, seeming to appear from nowhere. She was dark skinned, with bright scarlett hair and very pale green eyes. "Most humans I meet are here for themselves, not for others." She observed Johnathan, and he did his best to not squirm uncomfortably under her gaze.
Her eyes shifted to look at Thomas, who was grinning. Johnathan was going to smack him later for making such an idiotic expression at such an important time. But alas, he, too, seemed to pass the test this woman put against them.
"Follow me, and refrain from touching anything. You never know what might bite your hand off." she said, with a look directed to Thomas, who was still grinning like a fool. "And leave the horse. It will not be harmed, and my brother shall watch it."
The two youths followed behind the fae woman, and as soon as they passed into the trees, the woods felt different. The magic much…stronger, older. It unnerved Johnathan as much as it didn't affect Thomas. He'd only felt magic of this strength once before—when Merlin brought the people back to Myula. This was nothing to mess around with. Fae Courts were nothing to mess around with.
"I get to actually meet my father's people!" Thomas whispered excitedly into Johnathan's ear. "I've never actually gotten to meet a full-fae, and now there will be so many of them!"
Johnathan now understood his friend's earlier glee. There had been very, very few fae that had transferred to Terra. But due to the lack of natural magic, many of them died or just…vanished. There were a fair few halfling's or mixed bloods, but Thomas' father had apparently been one of the last fae to die, passing away shortly before the halfling was born. And well, now Johnathan felt bad about the previous desire to whack his friend for his lack of solemness.
"So you are a halfling, then? I could sense that your magic was close to a fae's." The fae-woman looked back at the two young men, curiosity in her eyes. "I've never met a half-fae. Many of my kind dislike humans, and I don't know any personally who would like them enough to mate with one. It's curious, really. Do you know why?"
Thomas shook his head. "My father passed away in Terra, before I was born. So I never knew him enough to ask. But I'm far from the only halfling. There are several among our people, and several more who have been fae-gifted. Aunt Morgana, Jonny's aunt really, but I called her that, too, was also a halfling. She helped me out a lot when I was young, because fae-blood magic tends to be a little less structured than non-fae magic. And it gets…odd, with human magic."
And Thomas was back to talking relentlessly. The entire half hour they walked, he talked to the fae, who told them to call her Saen, who only interrupted periodically with a question or two. Johnathan stayed silent, thinking about how to request his wish from the Fae King. In the stories, the fae were tricky at the best of time, particularly if they didn't like you. He'd gotten beyond the go-between, but the audience with King Oberon would be far more difficult, especially since he'd be requesting the use of their land. Fae were jealous caretakers of their lands.
"We have arrived." Saen cut off Thomas, and gestured to a pair of trees, both curved towards the other, branches tangling to create a mystical arch, very worthy of a faery tale. "I recommend only the Prince Whose People Lack A Kingdom speaks, and very carefully at that. The King is in a fair mood now, but that is as easily changed as the wind. I wish you good luck, and hope that you manage to gain permission for your request." And with a shifting in the leaves, Saen the fae was gone.
Johnathan took a few deep breaths to steady himself. "Thomas, stay out here. And take these." Pulling his belt-knife and sword from their sheathes, he handed them to his most trusted and loyal companion, who nodded as he accepted them.
"Good luck, my friend. May the stars protect you and give you guidance."
Johnathan nodded, walking past the arch. The light shifted, dimming, giving the air a more ethereal quality. It felt incredibly surreal as he approached the throne where a man—no, a fae—lounged comfortably in a throne. He wore robes of shifting jewel colors—iridescent, feathered wings folded behind his back, their paleness a contrast to the deep gold of his skin. While there was no crown upon his head, his whole aura screamed "royal" and "king." Relaxed at the moment, but capable of powerful, powerful things the moment the urge took him.
Keeping his posture perfect, Johnathan walked with his head high, before kneeling in front of the throne.
Smirking, the king started at the youth for several minutes, silent. It felt like he was staring into the very soul of the human boy, who did his best to appear unperturbed by the unnerving stare. He did not look away.
Finally, the king spoke. "It has been a long time since my niece, Saen, has deemed a human worthy enough to gain audience with me. You must have impressed her somehow, and I suspect it was honesty. She does like honesty. So what is it you want? Every human I've met always wants something."
Johnathan inhaled. "I do not want for myself, your majesty. But I do want. I want for my people, who have once again been forced to leave their homes, or perish. They have been continually persecuted for the magic they were born with, the magic that most only use for the most well-intentioned ideas." In very calm, clear tones, Johnathan explained the transfer to Terra and the return to Myula. "Now, my people lack a home. While they are currently tolerated as refugees, the heir to that kingdom is not tolerant of magic. As soon as he ascends to the throne, there is no doubt in my mind my people will suffer even more. We have run out of most options. And that, King Oberon, is why I kneel before you today. My people, who are innocent, have suffered for so long. I wish to find a place where they may be safe, once and for all. I would implore you, please give us some land. Land where we can create a safe place for people who have magic, or are sympathetic to it."
"And just what would you be willing to do, for this land?" King Oberon mused. "There is very little in life that is free, so what would you give to gain your desire?"
"I would give anything that is mine to give, and do anything in my power to do. I cannot offer more than that."
The Fae King raised a brow. "Is that so? Hmm…what to do, what to do…I find myself quite sympathetic to the plight of your people. So I shall give you three tasks, and ask a few laws be put in place. The laws will be things along the lines of protecting my people, simple, really—but the tasks will not be easy. Do you accept?"
"What would the tasks be, your majesty?"
"Do you accept?" the king repeated.
Johnathan nodded, and said. "I do accept your generous offer."
"Very well. Your three tasks shall be these: First, go to the Forest of Chivista. In it, there is a freshwater spring frequented by unicorns—retrieve a vial of the water and a tail hair from a unicorn. Second, you must go to the Castle of Alessa the Sorceress. Obtain four lilies, alive and whole, from her gardens: one for each element. Third, you must go to the court of King Myrin, and retrieve something he borrowed from me. It is months past the return date, but I know that my old friend most likely forgot." The king sighed in a manner that made "forgot" seem like the completely wrong word. "After you have retrieved all these things, return to my court and I will let you obtain land for your people. Failure to do so will result in death, though most likely not at my hand. Do you understand your tasks?"
Johnathan nodded. "I do."
"Then you may leave."