Gaurdians of Fae: The Bellsong Chronicles

[anasa]

Fae: An island adrift in the emerald sea of a distant world, an island filled to the brim with magic, dragons, fairies, and adventure. It is in this place that many of my stories take place. "Gaurdians of Fae" is a never-ending metaseries telling the tales of some of Fae's most legendary heroes.

The Bellsong Chronicles is a retelling of the story of Tawny Bellsong, the Earthian girl who, by the unstoppable hands of fate, was thrown into this world, with nothing but the clothes on her back and a mystery to be solved. It is told in seperate scrolls, posted here with permission from Miamay, Head Scribe of the Fairy Collection of Scrolls (or FCOS). Some scrolls are missing, but, seeing as the main story is unaffected by their absence, they must not have been very important.

This takes place in the year 916 AR, during the so-called Era of Peace. However, our heroine's journey begins in the United States of America, in the year 2001.

[anasa]

Scroll 1: Darkness and Light

She watched as raindrops raced down the car window as the world outside turned foggy and gray. The gentle slicing of wheels through the watery road managed to momentarily set aside the stormclouds in her own mind, and the rhytmic beats of the windshield wipers seemed to be singing to her in a long-forgotten lullaby. Her eyes began to gently close as sleep-

WUMP!!

Her eyes shot open and she jerked up in her seat, looking around, bewildered.
"What was that?" she asked, though to no particular person.
"I think we hit something," the driver said, turning the steering wheel. After pulling off to the side of the road, the driver parked and climbed out of the driver's seat, a spray of rainwater entering before the door slammed shut.
Frustrated, she brushed the water off of her pants leg. You see, Tawny was the sort of person that cared most about making her life convenient and comfortable; easily obtainable to the daughter of wealthy entrepeneurs such as the Bellsongs. Tawny had always lived a life of lazy luxury, making her impervious to others' stories of hardship and woe. So, in situations such as these, instead of worrying about the small creature that might have just been killed or the poor, underpaid escort fighting a mighty downpour outside, she merely chose to worry and mutter under her breath about her $2000 designer jeans being nearly ruined and how unfair it was that she had to go to piano lessons ON A SATURDAY. A rainy Saturday afternoon when she could be home, chatting with her friends; except, of course, that annoying Marley girl who seemed to have the strange delusion that she was Tawny's friend and always hung around like a bad cold sore.
"Oh, man," Tawny sighed, shaking her head, "To live in HER fantasy world."

[anasa]

Just then came the most ear-splitting scream she had ever heard. Whipping around, Tawny looked out of the back window, although the fog prevented her from seeing the source. Frantically, she tried to think of some earthly creature that made a sound like that. There was none.

SPLURT.

Her hands began shaking as she realized that the crimson red substance spread on the window was fresh blood mixing and running with the rain. Her face was drained of all color and she tried unsuccesfully to calm her shaking fingers to unbuckle her seat belt.

CRASH!

The entire car rocked an shook violently as gigantic black claws pierced through the metal and tossed the automobile to and fro, a gnarled black beak with teeth like a bear trap snapping, pecking, biting, chewing away at the roof!Her scream was drowned out by the predator's wail of joy as its blood-red eye peered in and found seconds.
By the time she saw the creature lunge in for the kill, exruciating pain had already been spread throughout her entire body, warm blood gushing from the open wound in her stomach.

Darkness.

[anasa]

A sudden rush of cold splashed onto her face and she coughed out a bitter, metallic substance she assumed was blood. A rush of pain greeted her along with the recollection of the attack. She screamed out in agony, blood and rain mixing around her, seeping into her hair and through her clothing.
A sudden warmth brushed against her face. She looked up to see a golden presence far more radiant then any other she had seen.

The being, despite the rain, was perfectly dry, as if a cloud had parted only for her or she had made some contract with the rain long ago to prevent it from touching her.
She appeared to be a young woman with large, shining golden wings. A soft yet intense light exuded from her body, as golden hair fell about her like a halo and eyes as deep as the ocean gazed at Tawny, shimmering with sadness and pity.

"Well, that takes care of that one," came a male voice from nearby, "I'll have this world port sealed up by tomorrow. Hopefully, no one else will find it by then."
The woman, however, took no notice. She leaned down and spoke softly into Tawny's ear, spreading a fragrance of every flower of the field.
"I can save your life," she said, "But, if I do, this body you're in will still perish. Your soul, however, shall be placed into a new body like this one, except that you will never be able to return to this world. Do you accept this?"

Chin quivering, Tawny's eyes shut tightly as she sobbed and nodded, like a small, lost child.

Light.

[anasa]

Scroll 2: The Captive Flute-Player

A gentle sway of grass and the sweet scent of exotic flowers awoke her (her being very sensitive to these sorts of things,) she moaned slightly as she propped herself up on her elbows and scanned her surroundings. Where was she? It appeared to be a sunny clearing in the middle of a dense forest.
A light, airy sound came that was undoubtedly from some instrument. However, this instrument was apparently able to produce a sound so sweet and humble, instead of loud and showy like the ones we know. It seemed to be the singings of the breeze itself.

Tawny stood and walked towards the source of this sound. It was a young man of about 23 years, his skin tan, his features sharp, and his eyes closed as he fingered and blew on a small green flute.
She half-stumbled, half-glided over to him, her mouth hanging open and her eyes glazed. Such a beautiful melody. This was truly a divine person to be able to play such a flute. Perhaps she could kiss him or run her fingers through his long, dark hair.

The person looked up, his green eyes wide with surprise, the flute falling from his hands. The spell fled and Tawny blinked quickly, returning to her normal state.

[anasa]

"Hey, you!" she said to the man, narrowing her eyes, "Just what kind of trick was that?! Were you trying to take advantage of me??"
His eyes became wider still, his hands shaking.

"W-What are you doing here?" he said, his voice surprisingly ruff.
"What am I doing here?" she said, enraged, "What am I doing here??"
She paused, thinking.
"I don't know what I'm doing here."
"Ah," said the man, picking up his flute, "So, you must be-- please, sit down." He smiled and motioned to a nearby rock.
She cringed at the sight of moss and dirt.
"No, thanks," she said. The man narrowed his eyes and played one short, forceful note on the flute. She sat down so fast it almost hurt.
"Do you play any sort of instrument?" he asked. Tawny crossed her arms and shot him her best withering 13-year-old stare and kept her mouth shut extra tight in case he tried to use his flute again.
The man sighed.
"If you don't have any musical talent, then you can leave this place."
He looked down at the flute now in his hands resting on his lap.
"I was brought here because the fairies heard my playing and loved it so much they decided to keep me here forever. I had played that song you heard earlier to win the heart of a mortal woman. However..."
His grip tightened.
"However, they reached the wrong ears, and she is probably dead by now."

A wave of pity cam over Tawny, and her expression softened.
"How long have you been here?" she asked before starting and returning to her former pouty self. This man is not your friend, she told herself, Remember what he tried to do to you earlier. Although she no longer believed that the man had even known of her presence, she still told herself that this was not so, for her stubborness was the only thing familiar to her anymore.

[anasa]

The man, however, seemed not to notice her sulking. Instead, he looked up at the clear blue sky, such a deep, deep blue, the kind that you feel you could fall into.

"I don't know," he said, "Time never changes in this clearing. It is always this sun and sky and breeze. It might've been 100 years or a million, only that it has been a very, very long time.
He looked back at her, his eyes shimmering and his face brightening in a smile.
"Thank you, " he said, "You're the first human that I've seen in a while."
Tawny's heart couldn't help but melt at that, her arms unfolding.
"I don't know why I'm in this clearing," she said, slowly and cautiously, "But..."

She then told her story, wanting so to be able to tell more, only finding that she could only describe moments, as if she was skipping chapters on a DVD and only seeing the first 5 seconds of each. The man reacted accordingly, eyes widening in fright, gasping at the especially terrifying parts. Sometimes she wondered if he was merely making fun of her. It was only when she mentioned the beautiful figure who rescued her that his expression became unreadable. She finished and he remained silent for a few minutes before suddenly grabbing her arm and pulling up her sleeve.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, "What's the big idea?!"

He studied a strange marking on her arm that had not been there before. It was an adult tree encircled by vines, a mark that made him pull back, his hands trembling.
"What?!" Tawny asked, her breath short and her heart-beat quickening, "What's the matter with you?"
He shook his head and regained composure.
"You need to get out of here. Come and stand beside me, and remain calm." Tawny noted that it was when someone told you to remain calm that it was the most difficult. She stood and walked beside him nonetheless.

[anasa]

"Flute-playing is not my only gift," he said, "This is a little trick the fairies taught me." He placed two fingers on her forehead and hummed a low tune.
Suddenly, a series of images flashed before Tawny's eyes. A spring to the north. Two moons of walking eastward from there. A village. A fortune-teller that would show her the way from there.
She frowned.
"Why couldn't you just tell me that?"
He grinned.
"I've never tried it on a human before."

A distant sound made him frown and hurriedly place a pouch for carrying water in her hands. He led her to the edge of the clearing. She stumbled, trying to keep up with the man's fast pace and long strides.
"Oh," he said, failing to pretend that he just now remembered, "And I'm sorry if my magic made you uncomfortable."
"It's alright," Tawny said, blushing at the memory, "You didn't know I was there."
He looked at her, quizzically.
"You know!" she said, "When you played that love song."
"Tsk, tsk," he said, shaking his head and turning her around to face the woods, "It's not my fault if you're attracted to me."

He gave a push and she went flying onto the ground, her waterskin bouncing off against a tree root. She turned around, ready to scream at him, only to find nothing but dense forest behind her.

[anasa]

Scroll 3: Faera

Tawny stood and tried unsuccesfully to brush the dirt off of her pants. "These are designer jeans for cryin out loud," she muttered to herself as she walked over to the pouch and picked it up.

She walked north as she had been shown, and noticed that the entire forest was silent. There wasn't even the sound of birds or the rustling of leaves; only the soft crunch of her feet stepping on soil as green light shone through the canopy. Soon, she came upon the spring she had seen in her vision. She shuddered as she thought about how dirty the brown water was, when she licked her dry lips and decided that desperate times called for desperate measures.

Once she had had her fill, she studied her reflection in the water. The being wasn't lying when she said that her new body would be like her original one. Red hair, green eyes, pale complexion, even the uneven teeth and crooked nose she was so self-conscious about; they were all a comforting sight. Even her clothing had made the transition.

She filled her pouch and continued on. After a full day of walking, she dropped down next to a tree, exhausted. If she had been in a forest like the ones back home at night, she would've been very scared. However, she knew that this place was different. Its only inhabitants were the trees and herself. As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered; if the woman had been correct about her appearence being the same, did that mean that everything else was just as true?

[anasa]

In her dreams, Tawny remembered a time when and her friends had all gone to the mall together. Oh, how she complained and complained about every little thing! Then, she went into one of the dressing rooms and noticed that it had a 3-way mirror. Suddenly, there were four of her. She didn't know why this absorbed her so much, but she looked at her reflections and realized that she looked very very grown up. All 3 of her. Why did it strike her so intensely? Then, one of her friends banged on the door, complaining about her full bladder and probably getting a lot of nasty stares from the other women. Tawny whispered a goodbye to her reflections, and then she turned and walked away, wondering if, perhaps, her reflections were walking away, too, off to their own world. Now, she wondered if one of them was her in this world.

Suddenly, she felt someone poking her with the end of a twig.
"Hey," they said, but not in an angry way, "Hey, you, get up."
She squeezed her eyes tightly before opening them halfway. Before her stood one of the tiniest people she had ever seen.
The "twig" turned out to be the person's bony little finger. The person themself was about as big as a large grasshopper, that was floating in midair with a soft purple glow around them.

"What are you?" Tawny asked, not quite as surprised as one might suspect. So many strange things had happened to her already, it was hard to be shocked. She squinted as notice two clear, dragonfly-like wings coming out of the person's back and two antennae coming off of the top of their head.
"A fairy?"
"Not just any fairy," it said proudly, "A blueberry fairy!" Apparently, this was supposed to be an impressive thing, but Tawny's face stayed emotionless, much to the fairy's aggravation.
"Oh, what do you know?!" it said, clenching its fist, "You're just a faera!"
"I'm a fairy, too?"
"No! A faera!"
"What's that?"
"Don't play dumb with me!!!" Tawny then noticed that the person was female, and unlike the being who had saved her life, this fairy, other then her small size, wings, antennae, and strange purple glow, looked like an ordinary human. She had short black hair and tanned skin, and she wore a simple green dress that was probably made from a summer leaf.
"Huh. You're kinda plain." Tawny said.
"WHAT?!" the fairy's purple aura became an even deeper shade, and whirled about her. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY???!!!!!"
"Oh, please, Melissa," said a female voice. Tawny turned and saw another fairy, with large wings like a monarch butterfly, except that this one was the size of a very tall human, and she was wearing a full suit of armor, including a helmet with an opening for her eyes and two holes where her antennae popped out. She had five other fairies with her with similar wings and armor.
"Please don't talk to the prisoner, especially not like THAT. Remember your manners."

[Bastian Farix]

((You good. Me like. ))

[anasa]

Eshi u ame.

Thank you very much.

[anasa]

Tawny stood, locking her narrowed eyes onto the armored fairies.

"Prisoner, huh? I've done absolutely nothing wrong! I don't even WANT to be here!!! I just want to go home!!" Tears welled in her eyes.

One of the armored fairies looked at the commander, who nodded in reply. The fairy stepped forward, his hand glowing with blue fire, reaching for her.

"Stop it!!" she yelled and slapped the fairy's hand out of her way. Her sleeve fell down and the fairies all gasped upon seeing the tree mark.

"Just as I thought," said the commander "Kill her!"

[Arissa Warrner]

(( your not being vary nice to poor poor poor Tawney (maby a smack for not being impressed with the Blueberry farie, glad it wasent a walnut faire yowch) ))

[anasa]

Oh, I'm not done being mean to her yet.