Adventurer Series 1: The Fairy

Chapter 1: Pixie

"Pixie! Wake up!"

"Mmm...go away..."

"Pixie! You're going to be late!"

"I don't care."

Suddenly, I feel something stepping on my side. Whoever wants me awake is certainly trying their damndest. If my kind didn't want me to be lazy, they shouldn't have been good at making comfortable beds.

"Pixie, you want to be an adventuring companion, don't you?"

Using what little energy I had, I turn and see my sister standing over my bed. In that moment in time, I was reminded that I was still stuck in this place; the land of Faes.

"The elders are about to give their wisdom to us, and you're just lying here, letting it pass." Damn everything, she can be so annoying sometimes.

"Fine, I'll wake up...and I'll hear what those old pags have to say..."

My sister clearly did not share my sense of humor; because the next thing she did was flick her finger onto my cheek.

"Pixie, you're the one who wants to be a companion, yet you don't make any effort to learn anything about it! A companion must be..."

Oh, hear she goes with reciting the companion's oath...I used to recite it to myself day and night, hoping that I would one day say it at my official coronation. She doesn't even want to be a companion, she wants to be a seer; so why is she lecturing me about the oath?

"...Must be knowledgeable, loyal, reliable, and swift." I say, interrupting her. Does she think I'm stupid or something?

"I know the oath by heart." I say as I drag myself out of my bed, "You don't have to lecture me about it..."

"You don't even meet the first part of the criteria; and that is being knowledgeable."

"Eita, I already know everything there is to know about this place! I know the legends, the lands, the creatures, and the people."

"You only know about our land only. Everything else is out of your range of expertise. Anyway, I don't have time for this; if you aren't going to make an effort to be a companion, I don't see why I should suffer for it too!"

Finally, Eita leaves me alone. Unfortunately, all her ranting has gotten me awake. As I begrudgingly leave the comfort of my bed, I look out into the land. There are other fairies like myself flying around, and doing their duties. I see a team of florists ensuring the trees we reside in are healthy and vitalized. There are some who spend the day racing about the Umbral Glade, a dark part of our land. I don't mean to brag, but, I've never been beaten in a race before, but Eita says I should spend less time racing and more time paying attention to those old pags. Then there's the thing that catches my eye; the thing that motivated me to be a companion in the first place: the guild house on our land. Large enough to accommodate humans and elves, yet it can satisfy fairies as well. I used to listen to the tales of current and retired fairy companions for days, no, weeks. I thought to myself, "Being a companion sounds like a lot of fun. I want to do it!". How could I have known that it would involve me listening to a bunch of decrepit sprites talk about the history of lands I've never heard about; or the names of creatures that shouldn't even exist. What the hell is a "dog" anyway? It looks like a hairy, shrunken horse; an adventurer can't ride that. Regardless of what I think, I still have to listen to what they have to say.

As I fly out of my hollow and towards the lecture ring, I'm greeted by everyone. They all know me as the fastest fairy in the land, and they all support my dream of being a companion. They may tell me the same things Eita does, but at least they're nice about it.

I get to the lecture ring and see a few other fairies waiting as well. Some of them are holding their scrolls, just eager to write to down every word uttered from the elders. Those old imps aren't even here, I bet I could've slept for another hour and still made it "on time".

I was proven wrong about my bet as one elder fairy landed in the center of the lecture ring. I had never seen them before. They weren't like the other elders who had darkening skin, old looking joints, or crooked limbs. This fairy had some scars on its face, a fire in their eyes, and a no-nonsense attitude. Were they a former companion?

"Good morning, all of you." This fairy is an old lady, but she talks loud. She's almost scary, "I am Laloca, a former companion, like most of you are going to be." She looks likes she's seen some action! This may actually get interesting! "I came from this land just like you, and I had dreamed of being a companion, just like you. Unfortunately, I am here to tell you that being a companion is not is fun as you think it is." Is this old pag trying to put me off of being a companion? Why would the elders tell us this so late, rather than at the beginning of our lessons? "While most fairies are assigned one companion for life, I've served as a companion for three different adventurers." Surprised gasps and murmurs are heard. The others sound scared, but I'm kind of intrigued by this lady's story. "My first adventurer was an old man who sought excitement in his life. On his first quest of hunting slimes, his heart gave out and the slimes ate his body." Slimes? Well, I suppose it would make sense that an old human would die during a quest, they're real frail after all. "My second companion was an experienced human woman who went on a quest to collect a bounty on a dangerous human. She was..." The old fairy stopped talking. Whatever happened to her friend, she probably doesn't want to talk about. "...Anyway, the third adventure I was paired with was an incoming adventurer. He was young, naïve, and inexperienced. I did all I could to keep him well, but naturally, he grew arrogant and wanted to pursue greater quests. A dragon incinerated him and gave me these scars. The other adventures met the same fate, and their companions weren't so lucky." Those are some interesting stories she has. While it may have put some fairies off of being a companion, it only makes me more excited!

"I'm sorry to tell you this near the end of your term, but the elders thought it wise to give you one last warning before letting you out into the world." Laloca continues, "Forget the stories you've heard; once you're out there, once you've seen these things firsthand, everything you know means nothing, but everything you've learned here means everything. That is all."

Laloca walked out of the lecture ring and another elder took her place.

The lecture ring used to be full of aspiring fairies, at least 100. The next day, there was only me and 12 others present.