The Children of When (Complete)

Chapter 22 - The History of When

Madame Persimmons took a deep breath before answering. "I'm sorry Leah, I did say that. And at the time, I believed it to be true. But after tonight's events, I don't feel quite so confident. For your own safety, I feel it would be better if Tyranius didn't know where you were for a while. It will give us some breathing space to plan what we need to do next."

Raff was scratching his head again. "Umm, I have a question. Why are the Guardians trying to kill us? I get that we have this old blood and it's mixed, but how could we be a threat? We're just kids. And what's so bad about this Elder Guardian, Tyranius? I mean, obviously we don't like him 'cos he's trying to kill us, but why do you and the other people in Florisia hate him?"

Madame Persimmons sighed. "I suppose you will need to know the whole story eventually. Under normal circumstances, you would have learned most of this in your history class. But I'm afraid you won't be going to any more of those for a while."

"Up until about a thousand years ago, the three races lived in harmony, in the united world of When. Around that time, there was a falling out among some of the members of The Council of Guardians and a feud began between the families of three members. Eventually, the feud spread, to include the races of each of these families, and war broke out. When peace was finally re-established, it was agreed that veils be erected between the worlds of the Light Fey, Dark Fey and Humans, in order to prevent this ever happening again."

"The sole surviving Council member, an elf named Sardon, appointed an Elder Guardian to rule over each of the new worlds. The Guardians also believed that future family blood feuds could be avoided by removing children from their parents at birth, and placing them in 'foster-homes', where they could be raised by unrelated Guardians."

"A law was passed, stating children from all worlds should be raised in the villages of Naissance, unaware of their future or their past. The Guardians ensured any Gifts they possessed were bound, until they were old enough to be taught how to use them in a safe and secure environment. Schools like the Fey Academy were built in each of the worlds, and when a child turned fourteen, they were transported through a portal into the world where they belonged. The world to which each child was assigned was decided inside the portal, and the appropriate door leading to that world would appear."

"I have no idea what happened in the other worlds, but in Florisia there were many who felt the new law was preposterous, and fought to keep their families together. They were either imprisoned, disappeared, or met with mysterious accidents. Eventually, a secret society called The Watchers was formed, of which myself, Dominic and the Oracle are all members. There are members all over Florisia. We do what we can to protect those Tyranius preys upon."

Madame Persimmons took a deep breath, and smiled at them. "But preparing for the eventual fulfilment of the prophecy has always been our main goal. We have been waiting centuries, and most of our members are still unaware of your existence. It's one of the main reasons I am sending you to the Oracle."

"Tyranius knows you are here, and I believe has already tried to kill you twice. The elves of the Forever Forest will protect you, and give us time to make plans about what to do next. What we need now more than anything is time. You need time to understand your Gifts and how to use them, and we need time to rally The Watchers."

"So, do you understand now why I am sending you away? After seeing what you three children are capable of over the last two days, I'm sure Tyranius is right to be nervous." She laughed. "The Gifts you have exhibited already are incredibly rare. In fact, I've only ever read about them in the book of legends."

"Belle's healing ability, for instance," she smiled at Belle. "Your ability to heal so many wounds without passing out, and the advanced recovery rate of the patient, is beyond anything I've ever seen. What you did should have taken at least three healers, and they would still have needed to sleep for a week afterwards. Not to mention the fact that Raff should have taken at least a week before he was back on his feet. And then, you tell me you can communicate with your horse. I've never even read about that one!"

She looked at Raff. "The power you used to throw off the beast reminds me of stories I have read about the Mages of old. They were able to use their Gift to shape whatever weapon was needed at the time. I have an inkling we'll be seeing a great many more astonishing feats from you," she winked at him, and Raff's chest visibly swelled.

Leah held her breath as Madame Persimmons finally turned to her. "And Leah. I have never heard of a fairy in this world being able to control the element of fire. I can only assume you are an Elementalist, and that your power over fire must be a throwback from your Dark Fey blood. Either that, or you are what's called an empathic Elementalist. You could only put the fire out if it was endangering yourself or others. While it's not unusual to be an Empath or an Elementalist, the combination is quite rare. It will be interesting to see how you go with the other elements. "

"So, if you have any more questions you need answered, you can ask The Oracle in the Forever Forest. He will be able to answer them better than me. I want you ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning. You'll be taking your horses of course, and I'll be sending Dominic and Dub to escort you there. Now please, be careful, and try to stay out of trouble until then."