The Dark Realm - Harlequin (King)

Chapter 3

Tristan heard a soft rustling of leaves and told his friends to be on the lookout. Instead what they saw amazed them, Harlequin was watching them from a quiet hidden tree top. They knew it was him because of the silhouette of his wings. Nobody had wings like his. His distance meant he couldn't hear them, but if he could read their minds he would be shocked at what they had been discussing. He took no notice of it and simply smiled. They sighed and went back to chattering. Diane had stopped coming with them saying they had to be independent.

"What if uncle does find the Dark Realm?" Lancelot asked.

"I want no part in that battle." Tristan said.

"We might not have a choice." Liana said.

"We have powers we could fight." Sorrel agreed.

"That depends on what his final Power Level is. Currently it is at least 500,00 if it's anything over say 650,000 we're crispy toast." Liana explained.

"Crispy as in how crispy?" Sorrel asked.

"We're talking blackened." Liana said. Lancelot and Tristan nodded.

"Here I thought we'd have a chance." Sorrel sighed.

"Well uncle is quite powerful. He defeated Mael and the Original Demon. Of course he has quite a bit of power." Lancelot agreed. Sorrel sighed and summoned his Aziel to practice some fighting moves.

"Needless to say though, we know someone who might be of use in such a fight." Tristan said, "We could ask Father."

"If he did find the Dark Realm it would be about saving him not defeating him." Lucien reminded Tristan. Unlike his father Lancelot was not as aggressive as Ban. He understood simple concepts because he hadn't grown up stealing stuff.

"What could we do though?" Sorrel asked.

"To become a Fae, one would have to break their bond with the Sacred Tree. If that said person then bonded with the Dark Tree then they would have forged a new bond forgetting the other one or completely. To revert the changes you either reforge the bond with the Sacred Tree or get the person to forget about the Dark Tree." Liana explained. They thought about this theory but they weren't sure. Of course the part about breaking the bond was correct, but they had no clue about how to get them back. Liana's theory was to reforge the bond, but if the bond is completely broken it is hard to reforge. Tristan voiced his thoughts and they weren't too far off.

"We could ask Gerheade." Lancelot supplied.

"I don't advise it. Gerheade is very devoted to the well being of Harlequin and the Fairies. The chances she'll tell us about such dark forces are unlikely." Sorrel said.

"If Gerheade ever found out about that she wouldn't hesitate to take matters into her own hands." Tristan agreed. He knew of Gerheade and knew she was very protective over Harlequin. If any sort of matter involved Harlequin she instantly worried. Lancelot nodded and tried to find some other sort of solution.

"I think this guy is still around. He's a couple of years older than us, his name's Sorren. He is a talented Fairy who also happens to wield God magic. We could ask him." Sorrel suggested.

"Let's go find Sorren." Liana agreed.

Along the way Sorrel explained that Sorren had mentored him in using a Spirit Spear some years before. Sorren was also really nice and gave the truth no matter how bleak it may be. They entered the Fairy Realm and Sorrel flew to a secluded tree.

It was decorated like a training arena. There were ropes keeping people from falling out of the tree. The branches were decorated with weapon holders and weapons. Sorren was training a young Fairy who was struggling with spear work.

"I suggest you hold it here and here." Sorren said while moving the boy's hands, "It gives you better control. The boy nodded and threw the spear again. Sorren had ice blue hair and his eyes were a bright minty green. When they landed Sorren looked up and excused the boy for a few minutes.

"What can I do for you?" Sorren asked. His voice was light and wispy yet carried power.

"We want to know about the Fae and the Dark Realm." Sorrel said. Sorren shuddered lightly but steeled himself for the tale he was going to tell.

"A long time ago the Fairy Realm was peaceful and prosperous. Kind of like it is now. There was one Fairy, one who was different. He was named Kairos. He had a darker magic, a kind of magic that despised all who were not like Kairos. His wings were different as well, darker than regular Fairy wings. He himself was ambitious and crazy vowing to take over the world for the Dark Tree. Gerheade saw him as a threat and had him moved to a different place, one where she hoped he would never be able to survive. Little did Gerhade know, Kairos found a way to bring the Dark Tree to life in that dark desolate place. More and more Dark Fairies were being born from the Dark Tree and Kairos made the Dark Realm, it was the darker version of the Fairy Realm. He also made a Spirit Spear that would be passed down from Dark King to Dark King. This spear became known as Dark Spirit Spear Polaris. After Gerheade heard of such monstrosities she immediately gathered her greatest fighters and laid siege to the Dark Forest. The Dark Fairies were overwhelmed and none survived, Gerheade made sure of it. After that battle, Kairos made sure any Fairy King would have an equal chance to become the next Dark King. Kairos made sure his Fae clan survived. Fae was the term coined by Gerheade after the Fae were defeated. Not quite the word Fairy, but close enough." Sorren said. They had listened to the tale intently and they asked questions.

"Of course if Harlequin does go down that road we're in trouble." Sorren agreed.

"Can you help us?" Liana asked.

"Needless to say I can provide valuable help, but we will get there when we do." Sorren responded. Liana nodded in understanding. Dire measures were only taken when dire actions were needed.

"If Harlequin does find the Dark Realm what'll happen?" Sorrel asked.

"Since no Fairy King has ever been pulled to the dark side before nothing has been recorded. Therefore we can only make educated guesses on what kind of actions he will make." Sorren said.

"Will he try to conquer the world?" Lancelot asked.

"If that was what Kairos did, likely." Sorren replied. Tristan was the one wondering what other non-beneficial things will come out of it. He was thinking the whole world might go dark, like the light of a fire was extinguished and replaced by a dark, sinister presence, a corpse of what was left behind. They thanked Sorren and left to discuss their own matters.

When they exited the Fairy Realm, Harlequin was waiting for them.

"Why did you wander off?" Harlequin asked.

"We wanted to talk to Sorren." Lancelot replied.

"You were not asking him about the Fae were you?" Harlequin's voice was filled with accusation and vehemence. His expression was cold and assuming.

"We were talking to him about weapons." Tristan filled in quickly. Harlequin's expression relaxed and he commended Sorrel and Liana for wanting to learn the ways of mastering the Spirit Spear. They sighed and went to their secret base.

"Harlequin really flipped when we told him we went to see Sorren." Tristan muttered.

"It's as if he knew Sorren possessed that kind of information." Lancelot agreed.

"Let's promise to never do that again." Liana said. They agreed and started processing the information Sorren gave them.

"Where is the Dark Forest located?" Sorrel asked.

"Southern border I believe." Lancelot answered. Sorrel nodded.

"We can't keep researching this. You saw how Harlequin reacted." Liana said.

"We have to warn somebody." Tristan said.

"That won't be the problem. It's finding someone who'll listen." Lancelot said. They nodded and started listing people who would understand and be willing to listen. They thought about asking Harlow, but she had been very anit-Fae when Harlequin had brought it up, Harlequin was very serious when he meant do not research the Fae, Gerheade was going to have the same reaction, they thought about going to Meliodas, but he didn't have the knowledge to help them. They just realized they were pretty much alone in their attempts.