Outsider Chronicles: Fairies Don't Have Tails
When I died, I wasn't expecting to get reborn into a world of fantasy and Magic. Well, actually, the last thing I was expecting was for my home to be destroyed by a Demon with me as the only survivor. What? Thats not the least of it? Oh no, I just had to stumble onto a grave containing a very powerful form of Lost Magic. Awww well, at least I'll fit right in with my new family!
And we're back. A lot of people have correctly guessed what Robin's magic is, but no ones taken a stab at the identity of the Knight who killed his Parents...eh, maybe you'll be able to figure it out after this chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Magical exhaustion is a rather strange feeling. Physically, it makes you feel lightheaded and comes with a rather empty feeling and, if you used up your magic too quickly over a short time, can leave you feeling like you've got a bad case of the flu, especially if you haven't used much Magic in the past. Unfortunately for me, I fell under both categories, so when I came too after my little freakout, I felt like absolute shit.
I groaned as I regained consciousness, my entire body was aching like crazy, my head was throbbing and my throat felt like sandpaper. It took some doing, but I was eventually able to force my eyes open, only to be met with the sight of a smooth, white ceiling above me and the feeling of laying on something as soft as silk. Considering that my bed was nothing more than a straw stuffed mattress, that certainly got my attention.
"Where am I?" I said as I sat up.
As I did, the ceiling above me shifted and opened, revealing that I was actually laying in a gigantic flower. Not only that, but I obviously wasn't in the village anymore since I seemed to be in a clearing in the middle of the woods and, judging from the position of the sun, at least a full day had past since I passed out. On the up side, I had not been taken by the Cultists, on the down side, there was no way I'd be able to save Simon and Erza...unless I wanted to take on the entire Cult on my own that is. Still, that did leave the question of where in the hell I was.
I slowly got to my feet and turned in a circle, trying to find a landmark that would give me some idea of where I was. What I found instead made me stop and stare. The flower I had been sleeping in was attached to the root of a frankly massive tree that extended way, way up above the canopy, its sharp, leafless branches reaching towards the noonday sun like grasping hands. It also happened to serve as the perfect landmark as the Dead Tree happened to be located in the center of the dark area of the woods we weren't supposed to go.
According to local legend, the tree used to be the source of a huge amount of Magical Power, but something happened that resulted in its power drying up and the tree itself dieing. Reasons varied, ranging from someone stealing the magical spring that was the source of the trees life to the King of the Forest falling in battle. Whatever the truth, the tree was believed to be the source of the Darkness and all the legends agreed that anyone who entered the dark area of the forest would disappear, never to be seen again. So yeah, good reason to avoid the place like the plague! I was the sort of person who avoided places with a bad reputation for being haunted in my last life, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I was definitely going to avoid a similar place in a world where Magic was very much real!
I swallowed as I looked around nervously. How had I got here and, more importantly, how? Theres no way I could have sleepwalked and, if I had, I'd almost certainly have been picked up by the Cultists.
"Hi!"
"GAH!"
I spun around at the sudden voice in my ear, only to freeze at the sight of the owner of the voice. He looked like he was in his early teens, with pointy ears, long, red hair and leaf green eyes. He was bare chested and wore a pair of baggy pants with a corsage on his left wrist and baggy pants which have a butterfly scale-like pattern at the cuffs. Oh, and he also had a massive pair of rainbow coloured, butterfly-like wings, was floating a few inches off the ground and was translucent.
"Wha...who are you?!" I spluttered.
"Hmmm, I think a better question is, who are you?" asked the winged Ghost, "After all, I know who I am."
My eye twitched and I took a deep breath.
"My name is Robin Goodfellow," I said, "Now who are you? And what is this place?"
The boy chuckled and did a backflip in mid air, spreading his arms to indicate to the dead tree.
"This is the Fairy Kings Forest!" he said, before he seemed to deflate slightly, his wings drooping, "Well, it was before it was burnt down by a Demon. Now its just a forest with the burnt husk of the Spirit Tree in the middle…"
My eyes widened in complete and utter shock at that. I didn't think Fairies really existed in this world! I mean sure, its implied that one lived on Tenrou Island at some point, but it had never been confirmed. Not only that, but this ghostly boy (who I was willing to bet was a Fairy himself) looked oddly familiar…
The boy shook his head and smiled again.
"As for me, I'm the First Fairy King and former ruler of this Forest, the Mighty Gloxinia!"
This time, my jaw dropped in disbelief. Well, that explained why he looked so damn familiar at least! He was one of the Commandments from the Seven Deadly Sins, but what was he doing here? More to the point, how could the Fairy Kings Forest be here of all places? I'm pretty sure that Fiore had never been Britannia. Then again, I suppose that it could just be a coincidence…
"OK, so your the Fairy King," I said, "So why are you transparent?"
"Oh, that," said Gloxinia dismissively, "I'm actually dead. My Spirit is bound here by the Spirit Tree until such time that a suitable successor can be found."
I blinked a couple of times. Well, that was...rather unexpected..
"O...K, so why am I here?" I asked.
"Why indeed?" said Gloxinia, fixing me with an unusually shrewd look, "The only ones who can be named Fairy King are those who possess the power to control Life and Death. Since the Fairy Race died out centuries ago, I thought I'd be stuck here forever, but now the Tree brings me a Human...how interesting."
He narrowed his eyes at me, before twitching a finger. I caught a flash of light out of the corner of my eye and spun around, just in time to see a rather large and sharp-looking spear come shooting out of the foliage straight at my head.
"HOLY…!"
I instinctively threw up my arm...causing a large root to shoot out of the ground, just in time to catch the spear before it stabbed me through the face. I gulped as the gleaming tip of the spear stopped an inch from my right eye. Fear and shock quickly changed to anger however as I realized that Gloxinia was clapping.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" I gasped, "You could have killed me!"
"That I could," said the Fairy King, "However, I didn't and now I know why the Tree brought you here."
I stared at Gloxinia, my jaw working as I tried to resist the urge to punch him in the face. Mostly because I was pretty sure I'd be wasting my time. The Fairy ignored my fury however and waved a hand, causing the root I'd summoned to release his Spear.
"The Magic you possess is called Disaster," he said, "It is the power that marks the Fairy King, granting its user the ability to control Life and Death in Nature. With it, you can transform tiny scratches into gaping cuts, a nettle sting into a deadly toxin or cause tumors to grow to consume the host in moments."
Well, at least that explained what I did to that Cultist, although exactly how I, a Human, came to possess the power of the Fairy King is a question I doubt will ever be answered.
"A Human you may be, but the Tree has made its decision," said Gloxinia as he floated up before me, Baraques floating at his side, "As the First King of the Fairies, I, Gloxinia, name you the next King of the Fairy Forest."
He drooped slightly in the air, the air of gravitas that surrounded him vanishing in an instant.
"For all the good it'll do," he muttered.
"Whats that suppose to mean?" I asked.
"As far as I know, there are no Fairies left," said Gloxinia, "We're practically extinct. The title is just for show."
"Then why even pass it on?" I asked.
Gloxinia sighed.
"I've been trapped in this place for over 3000 years," he said, "Until I find a worthy successor, I cannot pass on."
He caught my expression and gave a weak chuckle.
"Don't worry kid, you won't get trapped," he said, "I was stuck here thanks to a Curse, not my Title or powers."
He smiled sadly and looked up at the sky.
"But now I'm finally free…"
He shook his head and scrubbed his face clean of tears.
"Anyway, before I can go, theres one last thing to do," he said, "Along with Disaster, the Fairy King possesses the power to call on the power of the Spirit Tree through a Spear fashioned from it."
"OK, how do I get that?" I asked.
I really hope I don't have to make it myself.
"Just place your palm on the tree," said Gloxinia, moving to one side and indicating to the dead tree.
I hesitantly stepped forwards and reached out to the cracked bark. The instant my palm came in contact with the tree, I felt my hand stick and the tree began to suck up my Magic like a thirsty man in a desert. I let out a yelp and tried to pull my hand again, but it was stuck.
"Don't worry, it'll let you go soon enough," said Gloxinia, leaning back in mid air.
"That really doesn't make me feel better!" I hissed, "How much...WHOA!"
The tree chose that moment to release me, causing me to stumble back and trip over a root.
"Ow," I muttered.
CRACK!
I looked up as the sound of wood cracking echoed through the clearing. There was now a large crack in the trunk of the tree, leaking golden sap like blood. The sap trickled down the trunk until it reached the bottom where it flowed into a bowl shaped depression in a flat rock sitting at the base of the trunk, before the flow stopped, leaving a large puddle of sap in the bowl that, unless I was very much mistaken, was glowing slightly. A moment later, the sap began to bubble and swirl, before the tip of a blade began to emerge, followed by the rest of the blade and then the shaft of the weapon, until all the sap had vanished, replaced by a large spear stood upright in the bowl. It was longer than I was tall, with a large, sword-like blade on top of an ornate handle. All in all, a weapon fitting for the Fairy King.
I swallowed and hesitantly held out my hand towards the weapon. In response, the spear leaped from its place and slapped into my palm, sending a massive rush of energy through me, along with the knowledge of the-my- spears name and forms.
"Gae Bolg?" I muttered, "Well, thats interesting…"
I turned back to Gloxinia, who was staring down at his hands as his spectral body began to glow.
"Finally," he said, his voice echoing, "I'm free!"
Despite the fact he'd nearly killed me earlier, I couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah, you are," I said, "And...thanks for this."
Gloxinia looked up at me in surprise.
"My Village is gone," I said, "My Parents are dead. Without this, I'd be completely helpless. But now...now I might be able to survive."
Gloxinia stared at me for a moment, before smiling softly.
"I guess we helped each other then," he said, "Farewell Robin Goodfellow, Fairy King, may we meet again in the Afterlife...but not for a while yet!"
I laughed and nodded as the Fairy faded completely from view, leaving me alone in the clearing.
And done. So, now we know for a fact that Robin's power is Disaster and he's apparently been named the next Fairy King...of an extinct race. Yeah, don't expect any other Fairies to show up for a while.
Now the only question is, why was Gloxinia here and not sealed in the Coffin? Could I have plans for the future for that? The short answer is yes and here's a clue. Robin's original name was going to be Harlequin.
No, Gae Bolg does not have any of the abilities from Fate and it never will. Hell, its appearance is actually based on the Dragon Slayer Swordspear from Dark Souls 3. Most of its forms are my own creations, but a couple are the same as King or Gloxinia's.
And with that, I'm done. Next time, Robin meets a teacher who looks rather out of place…and is rather interested to meet someone who resembles a certain Grizzly she knows. Hehehe, could be fun! Don't forget to leave a review!