Author's Note: Artix Entertainment has changed some spells and things in the DragonFable game lately, but I'm still going for the way they were when I started writing this fanfic.
The name "Minda" isn't my invention. I first saw it as a typo of the canon Legend of Zelda character name "Midna" in the beginning credits of a Youtube video series: "Twilight Princess: The Abridged Series" by Xanauzumaki. After I picked the name for an OC in this chapter, I realized where I'd gotten it from so I'm giving credit where credit is due.
Chapter 7: Minx Forest
"You found it!" Cysero exclaimed as Serenity hurried back into the high tower room with her new pet laundry golem.
"I sure did," Serenity agreed, smiling. "It's awesome! Thank you, Cysero!"
The Fire-Resistant Laundry Golem wiggled, lifting up its white knit head to look out from behind Serenity's arms. It had been letting her carry it since she found it hiding in the washer a few minutes ago, but now it scrambled loose and jumped down to stand proudly next to her. It gave Cysero a friendly wave with one blue-gray sleeve. Apparently, it recognized the mage who had made it. The smile drawn on its face looked even brighter and happier than usual.
"Hey, little guy," Cysero said, waving back with a big grin. "I'm happy to see you too. Now you watch out for Serenity, okay?"
Looking down at her pet, Serenity saw it give Cysero a firm nod. Its button eyes looked capable and determined.
"Thanks," Serenity told it, and was rewarded with an adoring look. She patted the laundry golem on the shoulder and it rustled happily.
Then she turned back to Cysero. "You know," she said, "I think it's a good thing I had to go and search the laundry room for this guy. I feel like I've learned enough to make a level!"
"You're right!" Cysero said. "You've reached Level 2. And that means you're ready to start learning even more about magic."
He looked hard at her. "Now I am going to teach you something very important, Serenity. This is the one spell that you must never forget, no matter what happens. Especially if something terrible happens! This spell could save your life."
"What spell is that?" Serenity asked.
"It's the Arcane Shield," Cysero told her. "You've seen it, right?"
"Yes," Serenity said. "I've seen lots of Adventurers use it, and I saw Professor Danlin using it during your Swordhaven Magic Academy illusions. But how do I cast it?"
"Well, you have to say 'Arcane Shield' and you have to concentrate on getting it to work," Cysero explained. "Imagine a glowing blue shell of power, protecting you from anything dangerous that might be around. It's like the shield on a spaceship."
"Huh?" Serenity asked blankly. "I was following you, but what's a spaceship?"
"Eh, I'm not sure!" Cysero answered. "I have no idea what that is. Never mind. Why don't you try the spell?"
Serenity nodded. She closed her eyes for a second, picturing the shield the way she'd seen it used by other mages, then opened her eyes again.
"Arcane Shield!" she said determinedly.
A blue light glowed all around her. Everything looked soft and nonthreatening through it, as if there was very little chance that even a monster could hurt her if one were to appear and try right now. It worked! she thought, and gave Cysero a "V" for victory sign.
In a moment, the spell faded. Serenity felt stronger than ever, ready to take on the world.
"Okay," she said. "It's time to get going on our quest, isn't it?"
"It sure is," Cysero said. He went over to the nearest window, opened it, and jumped out. "Don't worry, I'll levitate you too!" he said from where he was standing in the air just outside, before Serenity even had time to be alarmed. "C'mon, let's go!"
Serenity gulped. But she stepped forward without hesitation, the laundry golem padding softly along by her side. Amazed at her own boldness but completely trusting Cysero, she took her pet by the end of the sleeve and hopped right out alongside it over the sill.
Cysero made a quick movement with his left hand, winking dramatically, and Serenity found herself and her pet landing on a soft but sturdy surface, like a cushion. They were all still standing at the same level as the room they'd just left, several times the height of the big forest trees nearby.
"Cool, isn't it?" Cysero asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"It sure is," Serenity said quietly, feeling awestruck as she looked around. The power of a truly experienced mage was amazing!
Suddenly she realized that they were already floating gently down towards the ground. Then she also realized that she had no idea where they were going.
"Um, Cysero? Where are we going?" she asked.
"To see a very powerful ruler," Cysero replied. "She doesn't talk to human people like us much, but we're going to find her and we're going to ask for her help in healing Xan."
Serenity thought about that for a moment. By now they were about two-thirds of the way down from the height where they'd started, and several buildings closer to the northeast edge of town.
"So, is she a Moglin?" the younger mage asked her teacher. "But I thought the Moglins already tried to heal Xan and they couldn't."
"Nope, she's not a Moglin," Cysero said. "And you're right, they couldn't. Besides, asking them for help wouldn't take a quest."
Cysero looked out over the trees they were now rapidly floating toward. "Moglins are friends with pretty much everybody, but there are other people with powerful healing magic who aren't so popular. I have a feeling they might be the ones who can really help Xan."
Serenity looked at Cysero, curious. "Who?"
"The Minx Fairies." Cysero's voice was as serious as she'd heard from him yet, and his eyes were just the same way.
At that moment, Serenity and her two companions landed solidly on the ground. She thought it was a good thing they had, because otherwise she might have fallen out of the sky even with Cysero's levitation spell.
"What?" As it was, her surprise made it difficult to keep her footing even on the packed dirt path at the outskirts of Falconreach. "But Adventurers are always saying how annoying and nasty Minx Fairies are!"
"That's because of their healing magic," Cysero explained. "See, the Minx Fairies have the ability to fully heal themselves in one turn, even if they're almost out of health. A lot of Adventurers find that aggravating."
Serenity nodded. "Now that you mention it, I do remember some of my guests at the Inn saying things like that."
As they spoke, Cysero started walking along the dirt path, followed by Serenity and her laundry golem. After a minute or two, Serenity noticed with a start that they were actually outside of Falconreach.
"Oh, my!" she said in surprise, looking around her with very round eyes. "Somehow this feels even more alarming than stepping out the tower window."
"I know, I felt the same way when I first left my hometown!" Cysero said with an understanding look. "It's a little scary, but it's exciting, isn't it?"
Serenity looked at the beautiful landscape that stretched out in every direction, and suddenly she did feel that excitement. "Now that I'm an Adventurer, I think I'll visit a lot of the faraway places I've only heard of! There are people who would take care of my Inn for me if I went on a long journey - Grams, for one. She and Aria have always been good friends of mine." She paused, looking at Cysero. "But of course, the most important thing right now is to find some help for Xan."
"Of course," Cysero agreed. "And look, Serenity! We're already at the outskirts of Minx Forest." He gestured at a wide, graceful archway formed by two beautiful oak trees. They were tall and strong, with thick brown trunks and bushy dark-green tops. Their branches met above the middle of the archway.
The road that Cysero, Serenity, and the golem were following led right through that dramatic gateway and into a dense forest. It looked like bright sun still lit most of the path, though, because the treetops grew over the top of it in only a few places.
"Well, I'd better get out my staff!" Cysero commented as they walked through the archway and into the forest. "We could be meeting monsters anywhere around here now." He twisted around and reached back over his shoulder without bothering to stop walking. After fishing around in his backpack for a second or two, he pulled out a tall, heavy wooden staff. It was twisted in all sorts of interesting shapes, with deep, swirling wood-grain patterns all over it.
"That's an awesome staff!" Serenity said. Then she caught up with the rest of Cysero's comment. "Monsters? And just when I'd fooled myself into thinking this was going to be easy and peaceful." She had been carrying her own staff like a walking stick. Now she found herself holding it more tightly, sharply reminded that it was first and foremost a weapon.
As if on cue, a giant pale gray-green boveox came charging out from beneath the cover of the trees on their right. It trampled right over the top of Serenity, bowling her over and stomping across her and all the way to the other side of the path before circling around to go back and stand right where it had first appeared. It let out a loud territorial bellow, and its dark animal eyes stared challengingly at the party.
Serenity struggled back to her feet. Clutching her staff, she threw a white blast of magic at the wild cow-creature with her other hand. The beast didn't look very impressed, barely reacting to the attack at all.
There was a furious chattering and button-clacking sound from the laundry golem next to Serenity. Marching forward, it raised its right sleeve and indignantly whacked the boveox right across the nose.
Then Cysero attacked. Lifting his staff up into the air and pointing it straight at the sky, he called out a loud jumble of random-sounding magical words. His free arm was held out straight in front of him with his palm out toward the boveox.
A bush-sized clump of tangled green leaves and weeds and plants and stuff appeared in front of Cysero's hand and rocketed right at the monster. Knocked back a few paces by the sheer force of the spell, the boveox blinked once in astonishment and then collapsed, knocked out cold.
"Nature magic!" Serenity exclaimed, surprised. "Is that what you usually cast, Cysero? I would've expected something like explosions!"
"Well, sure I'm a nature mage!" Cysero said with an adorable grin. "Why do you think I like wearing green? Of course, it's fun to wield all kinds of elements, but nature's my favorite. It does all kinds of zany things, you know!"
Enthusiastically, Cysero held out his staff to Serenity. "Here, take a look! It's a really cool weapon. A good friend from my hometown made it for me."
Impressed, Serenity took the staff in her free hand to examine it. There was a warm, living feeling thrumming through the wood, as if the power of nature itself was caught up in this staff. Near the top, a short description was stamped right into the wood in bold letters.
Oak Staff
Cysero's weapon. It casts powerful nature magic. What did you expect from a nifty gnarled wooden staff like this - balloons?
Serenity laughed. Then she swayed on her feet and suddenly lost her balance. Only her grip on the two staves kept her from falling to the ground.
Cysero instantly leaped forward to catch her, steadying her with his two strong hands under her arms. At the same time, she could feel her little laundry golem pressing against her knees with both its sleeves to help hold her up.
"Hey, Serenity, are you hurt?" Cysero asked, concern written all over his kind face.
"I think so..." Serenity said, feeling decidedly weak. She was starting to notice a lot of painful bumps and bruises all over her body. "I must have gotten more bashed up than I thought when that boveox ran over the top of me. But don't worry, it's not that bad! I've seen Adventurers in much worse shape when they get to my Inn, lots of times. I just need a good rest. Or maybe one of Reens' healing potions."
"Potions!" Cysero smacked himself in the forehead with his right palm, then realized he was supposed to be holding up Serenity and reached back out to steady her again. "I totally forgot. Any Adventurer ought to start out with two healing potions and two mana potions. Sorry about that, Serenity! We'll have to find a healing spot. There ought to be one around here somewhere. Just look for the sparkles."
Serenity stared at him in confusion. "Sparkles?"
"Yeah, there are always sparkles around any kind of a healing location," he said. "You'll see when we get to one. D'you think you can walk by yourself?"
"Yes, thank you," Serenity answered politely. "I'm feeling better now. I was just caught by surprise when I didn't realize I'd been hurt."
Cysero nodded. He let go of Serenity and stepped back, watching carefully to make sure she was steady on her feet. Meanwhile, the Fire-Resistant Laundry Golem was now leaning its whole body gently against the front of her legs. It was obviously planning to catch her if she fell.
"Hey, you're taking the job of looking after me pretty seriously, aren't you?" Serenity asked, looking down at it with a smile. A single, determined chirp was the little pet's answer.
Feeling stronger now, Serenity shifted her balance to put her weight on just her feet and her own staff, and handed Cysero's staff back to him.
"Thanks," he said.
The laundry golem finally seemed to decide that Serenity could do all right on her own. It un-squished itself from her legs and went back to stand in its usual place right next to her.
Side by side, the three travelers walked farther along the path. After only a little while, Serenity caught sight of a pretty sparkling effect among the bushes and low branches on the left side of the path. "Cysero, look!" She pointed at the area where the lovely glitter-lights were hanging in the air.
"Yup, that's it!" Cysero confirmed. "There's got to be a healing zone of some sort right through there. Let's go!"
He made a sharp left turn, aiming for the sparkles. As he reached the bushes and started to push his way through them, they simply vanished. Unconcerned and seemingly unsurprised, Cysero kept right on walking.
Serenity stared in amazement for a second, then hurried after him, accompanied by her pet. A few steps brought them to a small and beautiful open glade, with a sparkling fountain of blue water standing in the middle of it. Literally sparkling: the lights in the air were brightest and clustered the thickest right around it.
"Beautiful," Serenity breathed. She didn't need to ask if this fountain was the magical healing spot. It was obvious. Taking a few steps forward, she dropped to her knees in front of it. She laid her mage's staff on the ground next to her, then cupped her hands and scooped up some of the crystalline water. Closing her eyes, she took a drink.
Immediately the fountain's healing power flooded through Serenity. She took a deep, slow breath with her eyes still closed, savoring the wonderful relaxing feeling.
Suddenly, the healing of her own pain made Serenity think of Xan. He must be in so much pain right now! she thought. He's still trapped in that fire-spell. What am I doing here wasting time?
She jumped to her feet, barely remembering to grab her staff from the ground on the way. "Come on, Cysero!" she exclaimed to her slightly startled companion. "We have to hurry!"
"Hurry where, intruders?" a new and decidedly hostile high-pitched voice demanded.
"What?" Serenity looked around in confusion. At first she didn't see anyone but Cysero and the laundry golem, but then she spun all the way around and her eyes lit on two small, hovering figures in the air, framed between the trees and blocking the route back to the main path.
Serenity couldn't help but realize that they must be Minx Fairies. Each of the tiny, flying beings was a little over a foot tall. They were almost identical to each other: beautiful, elvish-looking young ladies, with black hair, bare feet, and lovely but very practical purple dresses. And wings, of course. Behind each of the fairies was a rapidly fluttering pair of translucent purple monarch-butterfly wings.
"You heard her!" one of the fairies said angrily, gesturing with a delicate hand at her companion. "Where are you going, and why are you here at all? We don't appreciate your kind bothering us in our forest!"
"We're here on a quest -" Serenity started, but she didn't get any farther. The Minx Fairies really did not seem to like that answer.
"I thought as much!" the fairy who must have spoken first shouted. Her voice was surprisingly loud. "Probably looking for treasure or rare weapons or something," she added scathingly. "Come on, Minda, let's get 'em!"
"Right beside you, Sara!" the other Minx Fairy replied. She zoomed forward, making a beeline for Serenity, and stopped just inches in front of her. Raising both hands to shoulder height, Minda made a swift pushing gesture in the air. An intricate pink oval appeared in front of the attacking fairy, and a bright light slammed into Serenity.
"Ouch!" Serenity flinched, then readied her staff. But before she could move, the Minx Fairy called Sara dived at Cysero. She flew right past his face, flinging a light spell of her own at him as she went by. He winced, but didn't seem to have been hurt much by the attack.
Serenity tilted her staff and prepared to strike back at the fairies, but Cysero's commanding voice stopped her.
"No, Serenity! Wait, let me handle this."
"Okay," she said. She lowered her hand, passing up her opportunity to attack. Her laundry golem rustled angrily at the fairies, but she gestured at it to hold its place, and it obeyed.
Serenity expected Cysero to knock the fairies out of the way with another powerful nature spell, but he surprised her by bowing to them instead.
"We are not here for rare weapons or treasure," he said. "And we don't want to fight. We're looking for Queen Mynxitta. See, we're hoping she can help a friend of ours who's in really major trouble."
As the Minx Fairies glared challengingly at him, Cysero stared right back. "But if you don't stop hurting Serenity," he warned them, "I will have to fight you." His fierce expression suddenly made Serenity very clearly aware of the fact that, no matter how fun and eccentric Cysero was, he was also a very powerful mage.
Sara and Minda looked at each other. They seemed very skeptical, but also honestly concerned about what they should do. Serenity realized in guilty surprise that she had sidetracked herself into treating them as enemies, when they were the very people she and Cysero wanted to ask for help.
"Please," Serenity said, "don't be angry. We just want to talk to your Queen. Will you take us to her?"
"Very well," Sara finally answered. "You seem to be decent enough people, for Adventurers. We will take you before the Fairy Queen."
The entrance to Queen Mynxitta's open-air palace was even more impressive than the archway leading into the forest itself. Glittering deep pink flowers hung from the branches of two long rows of graceful trees with pale gray bark. The walkway between them was paved with jagged pieces of loose gravel in many brilliant colors.
Cysero, Serenity, and the laundry golem walked along this path, led by Sara and Minda. The two Minx Fairies, it turned out, were two of the Queen's royal guards. They had gotten a little friendlier on the walk here, but still seemed very suspicious of Cysero's and Serenity's motives.
I hope the Queen will at least believe us, Serenity thought worriedly.
Just as she was thinking it, the group reached the end of the hallway and entered a large, round clearing. There were no walls in this palace, just trees defining the edges of the various areas. But this, Serenity thought, was definitely the throne room. A circle of smaller green-leaved trees, spaced widely apart like decorative pillars, grew a little way inside the boundary made by the larger forest trees around the edge of the room. And there was a throne, small and very elegant, floating in the air just at the center of the clearing.
"Sara. Minda," the fairy seated on the throne said in greeting. "Who are these people?"
She could only be the Fairy Queen Mynxitta. She looked and sounded very much like her subjects, but her face was commanding and her voice was deeply assured and confident. Her silky purple dress was stitched with curving black lines and bright white spots, to reflect the patterns of her fluttering wings. In her black hair was a tiara of pink flowers and purple amethyst jewels.
"My Queen, we found them at the healing fountain just inside the southwest edge of our woods," Minda reported. "This girl said they're on a quest, but they claim they're not trying to rip us off for treasure. Something about wanting you to help someone." Minda folded her arms and glared at the Adventurers, wings buzzing, as if she still wasn't quite sure whether to believe them.
"Indeed," Queen Mynxitta said. She looked at the three companions curiously. "Well, why should I help you? Adventurers like you are always shaking my fairies down for loose change, or bashing past them to get to some rare magical plant or something. We're tired of dealing with it. Why shouldn't I just kick you out of my forest right now?"
"Please, Your Majesty," Serenity said urgently, "Cysero and I haven't done any of those things. We don't want any money or weapons or anything. Please just listen to us!"
Immediately the Queen's whole stern attitude changed. She turned a bright, welcoming smile on Serenity's friend and teacher. "Cysero! I remember you now. I thought you looked familiar. You're the one who let that frog loose in my forest not long ago. But you look older already! You humans certainly do grow up fast."
Cysero grinned at Queen Mynxitta and waved a greeting to her. "Right, Your Majesty! That was back when I was in school. That frog was my spellbook, you know. You see, Professor Berith had asked us all to show off some powerful kind of magic -"
"I know, you told me the story before," Mynxitta interrupted him. "You demonstrated transformation, and your spellbook turned into that frog and hopped out the window."
She waved a hand at Minda and Sara. "Relax, it's okay. Cysero isn't crazy like all the other Adventurers. He was very respectful when he came here looking for his frog - er, spellbook. He won't give us a hard time, and I doubt his companion will either."
The Fairy Queen turned her attention to Serenity, who was feeling surprised but very relieved by this turn of events. "What is your name, young Mage?" the Queen asked.
"I'm Serenity, Your Majesty. I run the Inn at the town of Falconreach." Serenity gave the Queen a respectful curtsy.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Serenity," the Queen of the Minx Fairies replied graciously. "I am Queen Mynxitta. Now, who is it that you and Cysero need my help for?"
"It's Xan." Serenity suddenly found herself at a total loss for how to continue. The knowledge that most people didn't want to help Xan at all hit her like a slap in the face.
"Xan?" Mynxitta asked, looking over at Serenity's companion. "Wasn't he one of your classmates, Cysero? But is that the same Xan who's been burning things down all over Lore recently?"
"Yes, he is," Cysero said earnestly. "But listen, Queen Mynxitta, he's not just a bad guy!"
"You see," Serenity put in, as the Queen stared intently at them, "it all started back at that magic school when Xan was a teenager... when he and Warlic both fell in love with the same girl..."
Between them, taking turns, Cysero and Serenity told Queen Mynxitta the whole story of Xan, Warlic, and Jaania's past and their current predicament.
"And now," Serenity finished, "Xan's been caught in that healing fire for years, hurting all this time and hurting for Jaania too. Jaania's still trapped, and Warlic feels terribly guilty for both of them."
Serenity's voice caught, and she realized for the first time that she was crying. "I can't imagine what you could do for Jaania. But please, Your Majesty - the Moglins couldn't help Xan, because it's their spell that's affecting him in the first place. With all the incredible healing powers you and your Minx Fairies have, is there anything at all that you can do for him?"
Queen Mynxitta was silent for a moment, looking down at her tiny folded hands. Then she looked up, and Serenity saw a tear roll down from one eye to stand, sparkling, on her elegant face.
"You're right, there's nothing I can do for Jaania," the Queen said softly. "But here - take this."
She reached up with one delicate forefinger, touched it to the tear on her face, and brought her hand away with the shining droplet balanced on her fingertip. Closing her eyes, she rose from her throne to hover in midair and raised both her hands high above her head. A tall, pink pillar of light appeared all around her, and there was a soft but forceful humming sound.
When Mynxitta lowered her hands, the tear was glowing with a gentle blue light. It looked solid now, even though it was still transparent.
The Queen smiled quietly, flew forward, and handed the magical tear to an astonished Serenity. As the young Innkeeper took the jewel, it quickly grew to about the size of a large apple. It felt softer than an ordinary jewel, more like a very smooth ball of yarn, but it was still heavy for its size.
"Hold it up to the light," Queen Mynxitta said.
Serenity did so, and she and Cysero looked in wonder at the jewel. The sunlight reflected beautifully from it, but there was nothing more unusual to be seen for a moment. Then some gracefully scripted words shimmered into focus inside the tear-gem. It looked as if they were written in lines of light.
Healing Heart
A single tear of the Fairy Queen Mynxitta, she has enchanted this to contain the love and compassion that your story moved her to feel. Take it to Xan... quickly!
"This is the strongest magic I can give you," Queen Mynxitta said. "If this doesn't help Xan, then I don't know of anything in Lore that could. But I think it will. If you can get this to him, Xan should be fine."
"Thank you," Serenity said, overwhelmed, as she carefully tucked the Healing Heart into her backpack. "This is a very precious gift." Filled with gratitude, she looked into the Queen's bright eyes. "I'll tell the Adventurers who come to my Inn to be more understanding of your people."
"I have no doubt they'll listen," the Fairy Queen said with a smile. "You are a very eloquent young lady."
"We must go," Cysero said. "Xan still needs our help."
"Good luck..." Mynxitta called softly after them, as Cysero, Serenity, and her pet laundry golem hurried away.