White Thorn | On Hold

The Curse of Vasilith

"A Guide to Underfae?" Arya stared at the golden lettering, swallowing audibly as she stared at the creature drawn beneath. It wasn't human, or Fae, in the slightest. "So these are the so-called monsters from a curse that's just supposed to be a myth..."

"Yep."

Arya laughed, albeit a bit hysterically.

"You OK to continue, Arya?" Lydia asked, looking mildly concerned.

Her laughs died away, an oddly blank expression forming on her face as she nodded sharply. "I'm fine. Absolutely fine."

Jake stared sceptically at her, an amused smile on his face. "You sure sound like it."

"Just tell me." Arya sighed, ignoring the slight pounding in her head as she stared at the old book, trying not to cough on the dust. "I don't think I've had my daily dose of insanity yet..."

"Long ago-"

"In a land far far-"

"Arya!" She scowled. "I'm trying to teach you about our history." She said, kicking a sniggering Jake with one foot.

She bit her lip. "Sorry. I couldn't help it..."

"Long story short, the Fae rebelled against Vasilith... and him, being a vengeful God and all, turned the worst of the traitors into hideously twisted creatures, forcing his will on them... turning them against the rest of our kind and yours." She sighed, leaning back against the nearest bookshelf. "Those creatures, as you've no doubt guessed, were the Underfae."

"Those were the Dark Ages." Blu reappeared, coffee in hand. "Humans and Fae alike were slaughtered, and our numbers dwindled from millions to a couple of hundred thousand." He leant over her shoulder, flicking the book open. "We would've been annihilated, had it all continued."

"So what changed?" She tilted her head, staring back at him, noting the unusually serious expression on his face.

"Vasilith realised what he'd done... what was about to happen to one of his precious creations... so he sent down six of his warriors."

"The Immortals?" Arya guessed.

"Hmm..." Blu tilted his head. "Well, would ya look at that...? You aren't as dumb as you look..."

Lydia grabbed her by the arm, preventing her from tackling the Disciplinary Committee Commander to the ground. "Ignore him. Trust me, if you punch him, he'll be the one gloating in the end."

"Which is why a hell of a lot of Fae aren't too pleased with Vasilith..." Jake sat back, staring up at the ceiling, pulling their attention back to their conversation. "Hence the hatred of the silver cross... the sign of Vasilith's judgement..."

"Oh." Arya fiddled with her own cross, staring down at the hints of gold outlining the shape. "So that's what all the hints were about..."

"Yeah." A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "About damn time you got the message."

"Flynn and... Velvet... always tried to get me to hide it..."

The mood darkened considerably at the mention of her name.

"Well." Jake clapped his hands, trying to clear the air. "We might as well get on with some work."

"That's right." Lydia said, shooing Blu into a corner with a devious smile. "Get the riddle out." She ordered, watching as Arya slipped out the folded piece of paper, setting it over the page of the book in front of them, covering up the drawing of some sort of wolf-like creature.