Fairy 'Tales' Land

Okay, so for people who can't watch my work on DA, I figured I'd upload them here as well in text format, cause, you know, I feel like it. If you got any comment, comment away, but I will also send in links to my DA version.

http://shady-knight.deviantart.com/art/Fairy-Tales-Land-Prologue-124974338

Disclaimer: If you haven't watched my first story, Felarya - The Land Unknown, I strongly suggest you check it out, or else you won't understand what's going on.

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Fairy 'Tales' Land

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Prologue - Memories



"Sean! Lester!"

Marina rushed to the last traces Sean and Lester left behind before vanishing away. But relentlessly the wisps gathered atop the spear-head to summon the green sphere once again, leaving Marina to stare at the object responsible for her two best friends' disappearance. The ball of green glowing energy spat out another beam poised to finish the job, giving Marina little choice but to scream as the unavoidable projectile bolted forward.

"Ahh!"

Marina's eyes flew open, only to be met by a flash of light that faded to reveal her bedroom ceiling and the incessant hum of her alarm clock. She lifted herself upright, seeing for herself that her inner sanctum was tidy and normal. With a rub of her forehead she forced herself to come to her senses and chase the foul memories away.

"Thank goodness... just a dream." After she finished regaining her senses she glanced at her drowzy reflection in the mirror. "What time is it?" She leaned over to her alarm clock, which indicated 6:05. "Ahh! I overslept!"

"Marina, get up or you'll be late." Her mother said from downstairs.

"I'm coming mom!"

Marina rolled out of bed, still in her night dress, as she stumbled towards the bathroom with her usual clothes in tow. Following her typical routine, she promptly hopped into the shower to prepare for the day. Given a moment to relax under the warm cascade, she pondered deeply upon the recent dream. Its details were unusually vivid, compared to most nights in which she could only make out an incecypherable blur at best. She was concerned with how lucid it seemed, but shrugged off the bad omen and returned to her usual smile. After getting dried, dressed, and groomed, she promptly joined her parents downstairs.

"Morning mom! Morning dad!"

"Good morning Marina, how are you?"

"Great!"

Marina sat down to the table to her plate of cereals with her pancakes and omelette. Makoto, Marina's mother, went to the living room to see her husband, Shigeru, smoking a pipe while reading the journal.

"A pipe? Honey, did you start smoking?"

Shigeru blew in his pipe, puffing a volley of soap bubbles that took the place of smoke, bringing laughter to his wife and daughter.

"Honey, you're so silly."

Marina finished her orange juice and put everything in the dishwasher, like the helping young woman she was. She then rushed upstairs then put on her loafers and prepared her school bag before rolling back downstairs.

"I gotta go mom, I'm already late to meet Sean. Thanks for the breakfast." Marina went through the door and got out of ear range of her mother's shout.

"Marina wait!" She saw the futility of telling her daughter the truth about her dear friend. "Sean is gone Marina..."

***

Marina would try to come up with excuses while running to Sean's house, but they spent so much time together they both know when one of them is lying. When she arrived at his residence, she began feeling empty inside. All she saw was police officers and an orange head.

"What's going on?" Marina said before asking a police man. "Excuse, what's happening?"

"Two young men disappeared last night around the plaza."

Marina gasped as the images of the twilight sky distorting and turning into static flooded her mind in a flash. The ominous skyscraper towered over the people in the plaza at the center of the anomalies. The green wisps gathered atop the spear-head and concentrated into a green energy ball before firing his beam in the field. Sean pushed Marina out of the ray's trajectory, leaving the last sight of him and Lester disappear in a portal to a lush, green jungle. Back to reality, Marina was about to shed a tear as her hand trembled close to her mouth to the sudden realization. It all made sense why the dream was so lucid.

"We're also investigating the town plaza and that tower, but no progress so far. Anyway, this house is off limits. You should head back to school."

Marina stood there gaping at the news and flashback. Her hand relaxed and dropped her school bag, and then her legs fell under the new pressure. She wanted to cry, but somehow she couldn't. Then the orange head walked up to Marina with her arms crossed.

"Get up, keep your dignity."

Marina looked perplexed at the orange head, as if she had no idea how she could be so calm in this situation.

"Meet me in the alley behind the Bazaar after school."

Marina stared at orange head leaving, unknown what to do with its advice. But nonetheless, in all her curiosity, Marina grabbed her bag and ran up to Tekisei College with a plan in mind.

whats your deviant name

zelda31 wrote:

whats your deviant name

Shady-Knight

nice start!

Goodie, it's a been a while, a? Well, here's the first chapter of Fairy Tales Land

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Fairy 'Tales' Land

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Chapter I - A Search Leading to Nothing



The day seemed to have taken an eternity; it's been such a long time since Marina felt that way. At last she could leave and hear whatever that orange head had to say. Marina put her pencil case and her books before racing to her home. She took a dose of her inhaler before leaving the house, such races, as short as they were, could leave a mark on her lungs. Marina's gaze met the dreaded tower that took away her closest friends. She always had a good idea of Sean's feelings, but remembering how he sacrificed himself was more than enough proof. She had to return the sentiment; she had to save him like he saved her. Marina bolted out of her room by slamming the door behind her so hard the bookshelf almost fell over. Her destination: the Bazaar!

People walked around the town square as if the incident had never taken place. But the effect on their morale was present. People told gossips about the tower; some said it was all part of special effect test, while others claimed it was a cursed inflicted from God. Marina knew better than start a conversation of this type while people are still recovering from the shock. The Bazaar building had not changed since her last visit, still the same impression of old building crossed with a modern structure. But that was not what she had come from; she came to go behind the building. Marina remembered all the television tropes involving a back alley, and while she was aware they were product of fiction, but gangs in alleys were a real threat. It took Marina a deep breath of reassurance before heading to the dark.

"Rachel? Rachel, are you there?" No response came at first. At least not before Marina noticed the shadow come out from the turn. "Is that you Rachel?"

Marina figured it would be wise to meet this shadow on the double; it resulted in bumping into a man in ragged clothes and wearing a bandana while chewing on a straw and carrying a lead pipe over his shoulder. Marina didn't have enough time to evade the person grabbing her left upper arm. She had no success in breaking free; all she accomplished was giving the predator a massive grin as two more of its companion came out from behind him.

"Well, well, check out the chick I got!"

"Let me go, you brute! Let me go!" The cad removed his grip around his catch; Marina wasted no time to turn tail and get out. Her path became blocked by the arrival of three more thugs. Every step Marina took back reminded her of those horror and suspense films she watches so often, where the main character is cornered in a pincer and had to use his or her ingenuity to escape. She did not think it would so stressful in real life. These approaching, armed grins weighed like a million tons of pressure against.

"That's enough, Daigo."

The group turned to the depth of the alley to spot the orange head from this morning, wearing her white hachimaki, along with a bandeau, thorn hip-long jacket and jeans, and sneakers of the same color. Her frowning blue eyes intimidated the rest of the group despite her attractiveness and lack of toughness.

"B-Boss?" Daigo made a panicked glance at Marina then back at the newcomer. "I-It's not what you think!"

"Shut up, Daigo! I told her to come here, so let her go!"

Daigo stooped his head low to the floor in defeat. "Yes boss..."

***

"So why have you brought me here, Rachel?"

Rachel's composure remained as hard as concrete. "It concerns that tower, Sean, and Lester." She took no time noticing the worry in Marina's eyes when she mentioned the building. It was something she picked up easily as leader of her gang. "I can't tell you anything for comfort. You'll have to get over it yourself."

"But... the police are already investigating. Why don't we wait and-"

"You saw what happened last night. It's not something the guys at the building will let out to the public."

"... Then what should we do?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Daigo said, "We'll sneak in and find out where Sean and Lester went."

"B-but there are police officers everywhere! How can we get inside?"

"Daigo and the others will look for an alternate entrance," Rachel said. "Then they'll distract the cops while we sneak in."

Marina swallowed her saliva by instinct. "W-we? You mean I..."

"You'd have asked us to let you come anyway, Sakurai. It's written all over your face." Rachel got up and took a quick glance at her band before turning back to Marina. "We'll meet at the building in one hour."

Daigo stayed while the others left to gander at Marina. "That guy Sean is lucky to have someone like ya. Even if he's not officially one of us, he's still a member in need."

Marina stayed put while Daigo went to join the rest of his team. She had completely forgotten Sean told her about his yakuza friends. But all she remembered was that he never really bothered to actively hang out with them. She began to have regrets for not knowing the gang better, but said regrets reminded her of the pointlessness of moaning about her fate. Her face took a turn for the anxious to the determined. She left the alley back to her house, ready to engage Rachel's plan.

***

"Daigo, are you ready?"

"Ready when you are, boss."

Daigo moved his group to the back entrance of the guilty building. The police around the structure were rabid watch dogs for the yakuzas, not batting an eye lash to shoo away anybody making a step too close. Marina peeked from the corner of the stray car which confirmed her fears.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if we get caught?"

"You can leave now while you can, I won't force you."

Marina stared down in shame to Rachel's stern attitude. There were times she wished she wasn't so sensitive or emotional, but she can't help but constantly worry about Sean. Even though he was weak and frail during her childhood, Marina witnessed first hand his growth from a boy to a man. But she... she still remained a bit dependant on Sean as her feelings grew stronger. She had to change, she had to become stronger like her dearest became. But how?

"Wake up, Daigo's in position."

Marina snapped out of her trance to peek over the corner of the street where Daigo's group went. Her eyes only caught a lone man wearing disheveled clothes as he leaned against the building's bricks. The person's expression shifted from a lack of care to alertness the very moment Daigo and company entered his field of vision. Marina couldn't pick up any words coming due to their distance, but she figured they were trash-talking like five hundred sailors due to their erratic gestures. Marina blinked twice dumbfounded by the situation; what was Rachel's plan all about? Was it to start a fight with rivals? The boys whipped out their weapons and commanded their goons to charge in for the assault. All that violence didn't only catch Marina off guard from over there; it caught the police's attention and gave them no choice but to leave their post to break out the brawl.

"Now's our chance!"

Rachel seized Marina by wrist and pulled her like a ragged doll in her mad dash to the unguarded doors. Despite several complaints in the form of grunts from her accomplice, Rachel did nothing to slow down even by a millimeter per second. After a sprint straight from the Olympics, the duo literally broke in and shut the doors behind them. Marina slumped down to take quite a few intakes of her ever so precious oxygen.

"D-d-did we make it...?"

"I guess."

Marina felt minor reassurances from the uncertainty, but it did enough to get her lungs on the right track again. "That was reckless! What about Daigo and the others? What if they saw us enter?"

"Even if they spotted us, we passed the point of no return. Daigo and the others had it worse." Rachel had no hesitation pulling Marina up despite her opposition, but she dragged her with less aggression and more care. "Don't lag behind, whatever you do."

The owner of the building spied the two rats up from their comfort zone. The technician, a skinny man in a lab coat who, surprisingly, does not wear glasses or look anything remotely repulsive, turned to his mastermind. He had a very tall stature, too tall for someone of this land's descent, wore a wide-brimmed hat, dark leather covering his full armor, and a cape of the same material. The bad lighting veiled his figure in darkness, but showed his gold pauldrons and heels as he approached to take a good look at the lost mice.

"Intruders..." The techno goon turned to his master. "Should I send security?"

"No." The head flashed a smirk oozing with vileness. "The woman with the flaming hair and eyes of gold, make it certain she makes it to this room." He then headed toward god-knows-where, "I leave the fate of the stronger damsel in your hands."

The scientist followed his master's lead when it came to his smile. "My pleasure, sir."

***

The echoes resonated through the corridors lit by the suspended lights. The stench of loneliness crept down the intruders, or at least only one intruder, while mixing with the taste of despair. Marina's thoughts remained in haze from the desolation that is the interior, but had inklings of depression just for taking away her most precious belongings. But why were the lights so dim? Rachel dismissed it earlier as laziness from the maintenance crew, but Marina found out on closer inspection the bulbs had always been in good condition. The open door led to more computers and more emptiness which prompted Rachel to slam the door without caring if a monitor fell down.

"This is a waste of time," Rachel widened her distance of Marina who could only ponder about whatever her viper of a companion had in mind. "These floors are facades."

"How can you tell for sure? Maybe we're mistaken-"

"Marina! You saw it last night! It's impossible for this place to be normal." She seized Marina's wrist and pulled her toward the darkness. "There's no way it's the last floor, there as to be-"

Her sudden calmness gave put a stop to her red-headed companion's feeling of inferiority and put her on guard. The very back of the corridor slid sideways like a movie's secret passage. But this was not a secret passage; it was a new elevator. The stared like a spy before pulling Marina to the revealed entry. Despite some complaints, Marina had to come to the realization that she lacked her yakuza mate's guts. Only two buttons were present with the upper one tempting the girls by flashing. The elevator closed its door with a press and began its long and perilous trek to wherever it would take the passengers.

Marina glanced at her icy companion as if she submitted. "I'm sorry... if I'm a hindrance."

"You hesitate too much." Her sight could give the impression of a glare, but the eyes retained too much calm. "Are you familiar with the saying 'He who hesitates is lost'?"

"I... I am. But... It's the first time something like that happens. I..."

"Rely on yourself. Only a fool depends on something or someone."

"..."

The ride ended with the shutters breaking the darkness with a dazzling flash of alien technology. The two girls stepped out with exploration in mind; even the ice queen loosened her omnipresent scowl at the wonders to behold. The walls were littered with lit holographic monitors and decoders of designs which would feel more at home on a sci-fi space ship. Marina crept closer to tubes housing anthropomorphic creatures, which could breathe in the colorless liquid solely thanks to masks, while their body was filled with electrodes. Uneasiness ran cold shivers down Marina's spine, forcing her to rub her arms for warmth.

"Marina, come here." Rachel blew the dust off the page of an aging book that happened to be lying unobscured on the research table. Marina looked over the yakuza's shoulder but took a step back as if she expected the sheets to jump and bite her. "Why did someone leave its diary here of all places?" Rachel flipped page after page in search of text holding clues in their quest, but sooner than Marina could say, "Did you find anything?" Rachel shook her head. She however went back to pages closer to the cover of the document. "Listen to this,"

"July 17th, 1989.

As I suspected, the woman I married does not come from this Earth. She levitated in the cellar, along with our belongings, while none of her limbs or muscles twitching. Was it magic? In any case, I must study this in greater details.

***

July 24th, 1989.

As it turns out, my wife belongs to a race of humans possessing extraordinary psionic capabilities. In particular, the ability to harness magical energy with her mind. It gets better, further research revealed its genetic nature had been inherited by our child. My off-spring's power appears to be dormant and isn't aware of its unseen potential. I cannot delay this opportunity anymore."

The two girls became engrossed in the lecture of the novel to the point neither took notice of the sound of a tank opening as it leaked its unholy solution on the floor. The monster's electrodes dismissed their host along with the mask, while its solid white eyes peered at the intruders.

"June 3rd, 1990.

A tremendous success! The infant created from my cell culture and my wife's reached its birth maturity without defect. It shall awaken in a few hours, I presume. Her mind has been strengthened through gene therapy to the best of her mother's heritage. Sadly, it appears her kind has natural poor physical faculties. Even though they were strengthened, they won't exceed the average human being. With a final touch on her appearance, nobody will recognize its connection to my family. I shall name the infant-"

The approaching feet turned Rachel's attention to its stalker, to whom she answered with a swift back kick aimed for the face. However, the attack's force lacked the strength to do more than cause flinching; this made Rachel scowl at the inhumanity of the creatures within the lair. Marina caught an extended glimpse of horror's ugly face, as the remaining tube released their abominations, paralyzing the young woman.

"Marina! Get out of here!"

Marina's paralysis lasted for mere moments as the words of her helping hand sprang her legs into action, rushing her to the exit while Rachel slowed the unnatural trio. Once Marina fled the laboratory, Rachel didn't see the need to stall them any longer and rushed to the exit as well. But the door slammed right at the woman in white's face, and despite her attempts at turning the knob, it refused to open stubbornly like mule. Once it became apparent all hope for her exit was lost, she turned to the threesome, spread her legs in a 45° angle, stretched her right fist forward and pulled her left punch behind, her eyes accepting her last stand.

"Rachel! What's going on? Get out of there, Rachel!"

Amidst Marina's incessant pounding, a sparkle came from the dark of the corridor before launching a deadly sting toward the oblivious girl. The dart struck true Marina's neck vein, but she grasped the projectile and plucked it out of her flesh in a moment of strength, that is before succumbing to the noxious venom. In a different room, the man in white punched codes on its keyboard which pointed a device shaped like gun laser gun to an unconscious Marina. The man in the cape and hat approached the busy worker as a smirk appeared.

"Are preparations coming to a close?"

"Just a few more coordinates to enter and we'll be good."

The head of the operation walked to Marina's side and lifted her face with his finger under the chin, which followed the smirk flashing a tiny portion of a grin. "Ah, she is of such beauty, even within her slumber." Marina's lids twitched for a brief instance as the weights slowed the revelation of her drowsy amber eyes. "Good afternoon, Marina Sakurai."

"Uh...?" Marina blinked a few times as her vision adjusted before regaining total consciousness and discovering metal links prevented her from escaping the wall. Her struggles brought her nowhere against the iron, but did find the strength to send a black glare in her captor's retina. "You, you monster! What are you doing!?"

The man replied first with a chuckle. "I am granting what you desire," He turned around and vanished into the shadows. "A reunion with your friends. However..." Marina retained the disrespect for him in her eyes, despite her curiosity starving to know the rest. "...I cannot guarantee you will live to experience it."

Marina's glare subsided and widened in sheer terror and her wrestling redoubled in effort, which was cut short once the last key was tapped and the sides on the turret glowed the same shade of green as the wisps on that fateful day.

"No... No..."

The scientist's glasses glowed solid white along with a grin oozing malevolence. "Preparations are complete. Permission to fire, sir."

"Fire at will."

"NOOOOOOOO!" The device fired green ray on the wall which created a vortex growing as it engulfed the wall. Marina fell back once the metal bonds lost contact with the wall and found herself falling down a long well of light. "SEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAN!"

Marina's eyes became dazzled by the lights of vortex which made her believe her fall lasted for hours, when in reality, the end of the portal dropped her not even a second later before closing behind. She clutched her head while helping herself get up. When the haze in her retina began to subside, she examined the changes in surroundings. The laboratory had been replaced by an ocean of trees taller than skyscrapers. Marina's attention took a shift from the massive canopy to the tiny wisps dancing around her body without a care in the world. She kept glancing left and right in her search for her whereabouts, unable to stop rubbing her arms at the sight of the unnatural glow bathing the vegetation. The constant faint voices echoing against the woods proved to be the biggest stress inducer upon the young woman. Voices such as:

"Look! A newcomer arrived!"

"What should we do with her?"

"I wanna gobble her head first!"

"No! Scare her first! That way, they struggle more!"

"Yeah! Good idea!"

"I dunno, I think they trash more if you do it legs first."

All these whispers became too much for the redhead, so she accelerated to a fast-paced walk, and soon to a jog. But the voices refused to leave her alone, which brought her to do an actual run, plugging her ears and shouting, "Stop it! Leave me alone!"

Her wish had been granted, but not the way she desired. Instead, the ground trembled like an explosion occurred, which caused Marina to trip and look back. A colossal, monstrous hybrid of a centipede and mantis erupted from the ground. Marina screamed her head off and jumped on her legs to sprint for dear life. She did not care about her lungs. She did not bother to look back. She did not want to know if that aberration of nature was pursuing her. She desired to survive. But after who knows how long, Marina coughed and hacked uncontrollably. She did not care; she had to escape the insect. But the toll paid itself, as Marina's focus dwindled at an alarming rate. She struggled for balance, but eventually made a wrong turn and fell on her side, her coughing not stopping once. Air, she needed it, badly. But her lungs denied the air. As she began to lose contact with reality, she gazed to a figure before her. A figure of a slim woman bearing large dragonfly wings. That is all she saw before passing out.

Chapter II - Manifestation of Power



The ground trembled under the monster's weight and caught the winged woman's attention. She waved her hand over Marina's body in haste as if she sprayed salt manually. Marina's body began reducing in size under the influence of an unknown spell. It wasn't until she was shrunk to the size of a biscuit that the wild lady picked Marina and rocketed to the top, just barely avoiding an incoming scythe. A lucky wind blew in her wings; the giga insect's claw ripped through the trunk but it struggled to pull it back out. She gazed down from the canopy and set down the unconscious girl once she was confident the bug wouldn't catch them there. With the same hand wave motion, Marina grew back to normal size.

"Let's see..." Her eyes emitted an invisible light, but from her perspective, she could see the human's internal organs as clearly as seeing an image. She gasped and placed her palmed over her mouth at the sight of Marina's swollen airways filled with mucus. "The poor girl isn't breathing!" She put Marina on her back without hesitation and pinched her nose. She opened Marina's mouth wide and connected their lips together. The lady filled her lungs and gave her own air to the human. However, the air she gave back wasn't ordinary air. It was enchanted with the woman's healing power; as it passed through Marina's lungs, the muscles around the airway relaxed, and the mucus vanished without a trace. She rinsed and repeated the process until her magic vision confirmed Marina's lungs operated normally again. The woman responded with a smile only a mother could make. "That's one crisis averted."

An extra figure landed on the same branch which almost made the healer jump off the branch. It was yet another female, one with buttocks long purple hair and blue eyes. From her crouched position, one could tell that she stood a head taller at full height than the already gigantic winged red head. Her clothes were more covering than the leafy bra and skirt of the healer, but all they consisted were a midriff exposing white and purple shirt with off-shoulder violet hoops for sleeve, with a pretty thin lilac silk cape, a miniskirt matching the top, two silver anklets and two golden bracelets. Her long, pointy ears stood out more than her wafer thin physique.

"You sneak up more than a Dusk Nymph, Shae'la."

Shae'la the elf retorted with a smile to the ears, "It's better than appearing in front of you by merely turning around. Don't you think so, Temi?" Despite the lack of reply, she let out a quick giggle before offering a glance to Marina. "So what happened to your little friend here?"

"I already healed her. The poor girl's lungs were clogged. I never imagine I would see a case like this in these woods, but I'm glad I arrived in time." Temi stroke Marina's forehead with the same care a mother as for her child. "She's exhausted; I'm surprised she made it here with such weak lungs, especially with all the Tonorions becoming aggressive."

Shae'la kept her attention on Marina as suspicion made her lose the ever-present smile. She closed her eyes and reopened them, now emitting an invisible cone-shaped light. The pupils caught superior power in Marina's brain than those of normal humans. While psionics were unheard of for Shae'la, this one had something different: She could see magic flowing into her cerebrum! The light vanished with the return of the smile.

"Temi, I'll need this human in Kortiki."

Temi stared deep in Shae'la's eyes for explanations, but both were interrupted by the shakings of the tree. The hideous creature was successful in pulling back its claw and became determined to knock the tree over. Shae'la lifted Marina while Temi fluttered out of the canopy. "I'll see you in the Kingdom, Temi." With these words, runes manifested at Shae'la's feet with a quick chant in elven tongue. This caused a tunnel of light to shoot out of the circle to the clouds; the two passengers had left the nest once the ray dimmed completely.

***

Nothing but darkness surrounded the lost girl, or so she believed, as Sean's figure appeared in her field of vision. His back was the sole part facing the red head. She summoned all the strength in her legs, but her efforts were like walking in swampy water. Tears rolled down Marina's face as Sean gained distance, but she refused to come to let him go; it's the last thing she would do. "Sean! Don't leave me, Sean!" Sean came to a stop which gave her the strength to redouble her efforts, but witnessed a purple light enveloping her closest friend which transformed him into an orb. Marina approached it until she was mere inches away to extend her arm, but it vanished into a small pillar of light before the fingers could feel him once more. She remained still like a statue, save for her trembling arm and welling eyes. The weight of an anvil dropped on her, forcing her to fall down on her knees like the puny, useless, worthless, helpless creature she was. "Sean... I don't want to be alone. I... I..."

Back to reality, Shae'la covered Marina in a cyan glow as she used a spell to monitor her energy reserves. The light continued to condense in the thorax in order to feed a growing dim flame. At the same time, a cloud of fairies had gathered around the elven magician as she treated the female human. The majority poked her as if she was a corpse, while others had more naughty thoughts, such as looking under her skirt and shirt.

"Why can't we eat her? She looks tasty."

A giggle escaped from Shae'la's lips as she turned to the fairy. "Sorry, Kimly, but I need her for some experiments."

"Oh, oh! Are you gonna teach her how to use magic? I never saw a human use magic before." The flock stopped their activities and stared to the loner before bursting in a synchronized laughter. A big sweat drop drooped down her head. "What?"

"Hehehehe! Coreilin never met a mage before! Coreilin never met a mage before!"

Coreilin traded her childish expression for a scowl, complete with a stress mark to boot. "Shut up! Shut up nine times, Amerys!"

"Hehe, human mages are simply the tastiest of all tasty treats! They even say they can make your wings shimmer, that's why I eat a healthy diet of mages. That, and humans in metal clothes tastes sour. Yuck!"

The flame received enough energy and grew to its complete state, illuminating her system with its radiance. Shae'la saw her hand and face twitch and appropriately exclaimed, "There! Her energy is back."

The fairies backed away from the rising girl as if a monolith of death was coming out of the ground. Her first action following this exhaustion was rubbing the sweat off her forehead before letting her amber eyes see the light of day. However, her hazy vision adjusted itself slower than a slug. Then out of the blue, she clutched her head in agony while letting out grunts of pain. The miniature humans jumped back from the sudden behavior while Shae'la lent a hand to the girl. She casted the same detect magic spell as earlier and pried her head. What she suspected was true: the magic was flooding her brain. Shae'la knew there was only one thing to do, but she couldn't do it alone, so she turned to the pack of fairies.

"Get me some pebbles." They all nodded and enlarged a few inches in size before scattering in every direction. "Hey, girl, concentrate on me."

"Wha...?"

"Just do it."

Marina had no idea what the stranger was talking about, but she decided not to question it. She placed her thoughts on the tall woman as instructed, but this caused a wave of panic inside, as she heard: 'That's it! Keep it as long as you can' in her head. She veered her mind off, but the crying pain returned and forced her to recalibrate her psyche back to the stranger. "How am I doing this?"

"We got pebbles!"

The fairies dropped the pebbles into a small pile in front of the two. The mage examined Marina's brain activity and noticed it stabilizing little by little. "Now, concentrate on the pebbles." Again, Marina did not question and followed her instructions. She did not jump back the instance the stones twitch; she instead jumped back the moment they rose from the ground as if an invisible hand lifted them. Shae'la's monitoring revealed the magic in Marina's brain spreading more evenly through her cortex. "That's it! Keep it up!"

"Wh-what's going on? How am I doing this?" After five minutes or so passed, the pebbles crashed down due from the lack of support. Marina fell limp in the same vein, but Shae'la held the human back in case of exhaustion. The girl stared one last time on the mage with still no clear idea of her appearance. "What's... happening... to me?" Marina then tilted her head to the side and fell asleep a second time. This time her brain would have the experience needed to control the intake of magic through its nervous system.

"I'll tell you after you rest." Shae'la said.

***

Around two hours had passed since the minor incident. The small fairy pack had the kindness to assist Shae'la in transporting the human girl to her house as well as set her on the couch. The mage added the leaves crunched leaves in her cauldron heated by a glowing red rune, which caused the liquid to gain its green hue as well as emanate a delicate, yet sweet fragrance in the room. The little fairies continued their shenanigans with the human which consisted mostly of exploring her clothes. Many argued what she would use those for as their knowledge to this race basically amounted to food nothing else. They were all interrupted the moment Marina stretched and yawned as slumber escaped her. Coreilin hopped up and down and flew to the human's chest while she rubbed her eyes. When the fog dissipated from her eyes, an extreme close up of a childish girl's face was there to greet her.

"Hi there!" Coreilin said.

Marina let out a yelp as she backed away from the face while Coreilin fluttered non-chalantly above the human's face. "Wh-who are you?" No time had to pass for Marina to recognize the features of Coreilin and her compatriots. "Wait... wings, antennas, small size..."

"That's right! I'm a fairy!" Coreilin faced her group of friends much to Marina's bemusement. "Everyone is ready?" The entire pack aligned horizontally before Marina's eyes and said in unison:

"Welcome to Felarya!"

Marina let time pause for her in order to assimilate what she just heard, but blinked twice after failing to comprehend the words of the feys.

"It's a crossroad between dimensions." Marina turned to the familiar voice and glued her attention to her inhuman features, especially her unusual slender build and long ears. "Hehe, you're not familiar with much of the creatures here, are you?"

"You're... an elf? Like in the stories of J.R.R Tolkien?"

"I never heard of him, but sure, let's go with that." Shae'la poured her homemade drink in a spare cup, exuding the exquisite aroma in the form of an unnoticeable smoke. "Do you want some tea? It'll do you good."

"Um... sure." Marina took a sip of the solution Shae'la brought to her. She did not expect to feel more energized inside as well as gaining clearer thoughts. "Hmm! It's delicious!"

"Yep! Nothing like Magreh leaves to perk your spirit and soul. We haven't introduced ourselves, haven't we? My name is Shae'la Adanigh"

"My name is Marina Sakurai."

After the cups were stripped of their liquid, Marina paid attention to the features of Shae'la and the fairies. She gained a basic understanding of their physique, but she had to gain knowledge of their behavior. Shae'la waved her fingers to command the glowing marks to pour water on the teaware while the leafy brushes scrubbed the insides while suspended in mid air. The fairies acted in similar fashion, but their methods involved flinging water on their ware and use a blast of hot air for drying.

"I must be in a dream." Marina said. "Yes, there's no doubt I'm dreaming."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Shae'la retorted. "When someone says he's dreaming, it's almost guaranteed he's wide awake."

Marina uttered no sound to process the information more easily. "You're right," Marina sighed. "Tell me more about this world."

"There's a lot about Felarya, but all you need to know is that adventurers and explorers come from many worlds and dimensions, usually in search of its fabulous treasures and artifacts. But nine times out of ten, they meet a dire fate at the hands of the many giant hybrid creatures."

"A... dire fate? What happens to them?"

Shae'la pointed one of the fairies in the back of the room, who had just recently caught a mouse. Marina had neither an idea nor a clue of her behavior until her eyes widened when she witnessed the rodent shrinking within the fey's grasp. She lifted the little animal above her head, let it slide down her tongue, and then swallowed it whole and alive. Marina remained speechless that the fairy would tickle the bulge squirming down her throat.

"That happens."

Marina felt a chill run down her body and rubbed it in haste to avoid succumbing to her fear. "O-okay..."

"The other thing you must know about Felarya is its soil."

"Its soil?"

"Yep. The soil radiates positive energy that energizes the body and accelerates healing, as well as prevents diseases and damage caused by age. In theory, you could live forever as long as you are contacting the energy and still has the energy of your youth."

"Wow."

"That energy is also responsible for Felarya's rich magical atmosphere, and probably the key to your powers."

Marina remained still at the words of the magician. "P-p-powers? Wh-what powers?"

"Oh, it's very simple. It's your brain."

"My... my brain?"

"Yep. You see, your brain activity is powerful enough to manifest psionics."

"Psionics? You mean I have... psychic powers?"

"That's not all! Unlike most psionics, your brain is capable of harnessing magic. In theory, you could use both magic and psionic at the same time."

Words from the past resurfaced in Marina's head. '...my wife belongs to a race of humans possessing extraordinary psionic capabilities. In particular, the ability to harness magical energy with her mind... ...its genetic nature has been inherited by our child.' "No, it can't be..." She then realized the potentials these skills could offer to her quest and shook off the clouding doubts to let the flames of determination burn bright in her pupils. "Teach me how to use these powers, please. But..." She stared lower the moment she remembered her principles. "I don't want to hurt people."

"I understand that look in your eyes." Shae'la gave Marina a smile of friendship. "I'll be glad to teach you psionic and divine magic."

"Divine magic?"

"It's magic granted by deity." Shae'la got up to search for her book of lore and flipped through the pages of the known deities. "Of course, I am worshipping an elven god, but maybe I can find you a human god." She turned until she put her finger on the 20th sheet. "Lathea, this one sounds good." She brought the book to the human to set it down before sitting on her knees and bringing her palms together. Marina's assumption was to do the same as the mage and thus she mimicked her posture. "Close your eyes and repeat after me."

Shae'la said a sentence in a tongue Marina had never heard of, but was nonetheless easy to pronounce. She repeated word for word before Shae'la proceeded to the next bout of the chant, to which Marina repeated with beginner's problems. Nine sentences later, Marina reopened her eyes but did not recognize the house of the elf. She instead stood amidst a sea of blue adorned with clouds until a light caught her attention from above. She saw the woman standing taller than the Eiffel Tower surrounded by an angelic halo. Her features of flawless beauty radiated as strong as her long brunette hair and, her toga wrapped around her ribcage, and her golden gorgerin adorned with gems of the rainbow. Awe entangled the young woman at such marvelous magnificence illuminated even as the entity opened her light brown eyes.

"I am Lathea..." The voice of the deity resonated like an echo. "Shinnos' Goddess of Life. I received your demand to become one of my clerics..."

"Tha... Tha... That is correct..."

"Let me see if you are worthy..." Marina remained still as the Goddess peered inside Marina's soul. She could see her kindness, her obedience, her flaws, her will, her refusal to stand still as a loved one felt threatened; she could see her deepest desires and the motivations for these. "Young Miyabi..." Marina swallowed her chunk of saliva; the suspense was killing her. "You possess a kind and gentle heart. You desire to help the people around you but doubt your abilities. Your wish to be reunited with your closest friend for fear of danger is an intention a few comprehends the true meaning. I declare you worthy of attempting the trial of a cleric. In the fairy village of Kortiki, three manifestations of me will be disguised as residents, each with its own dilemma. Your task is to find all three, aid them, and bring back the proofs. Once you have all three proofs, return to the archmage Shae'la. You have 24 hours to accomplish this trial."