Inheritance

Part 2. Chapter 41: Forbidden Treasure

Fjorn beamed even though he already knew this was his destiny.

"But..." The soothsayer continued.

Fjorn echoed testily, "but...?"

"But you will not succeed without the old human woman." The soothsayer continued. "Can you see her?"

Fjorn, who was holding a bloody sword in a twitching hand, looked into the old fairy's blue eyes. He was captivated by them and could not look away.

Space and time seemed to open up in his mind and eyes.

Yharos rolled out in the scope of his vision in speedy lines that he could barely comprehend.

His bodiless eyes sped through stars and unending, green plains. They sped through sparkling oceans and rocky mountains until they found a human convent.

The old woman was in the convent, he knew, but his eyes would not take him inside.

I must see her! Let me see her!

But he came back to reality with a sharp breath before his eyes let him see.

After regaining his composure, he retorted to the old woman. "This woman would be neither fairy nor Arrozan, and she would be old. I am repulsed by loving such a woman."

"If you do not meet this woman and love her, you will never rule all of Yharos. I have seen it." The old woman warned sharply.

"Fairies do not love old women. We worship them. That is the only reason I will let you live, old croon." Fjorn murmured half-heartedly.

Shortly after his meeting with the old soothsayer, Fjorn's father was killed in a battle. Their village had been raided; dozens died, dozens taken captive, and only a few escaped.

Fjorn and his family were among those who escaped.

Fjorn refused to cry when it happened. Instead, he married his sister and took up his father's mantle.

His dreams were big. His destiny was bigger.

He began formulating a plan. A plan to unite strong fairies and then march upon an unsuspecting Maribel.

While he plotted and schemed, Fjorn often had dreams that kept him up at night.

Obsessive dreams involving the old woman who the soothsayer had told him about. Night and day, his thoughts led him back to her. It was a pulsing, intrusive thought that made his head hurt.

The image of the convent relentlessly flashed in his mind, but he could not see inside where the woman supposedly resided.

I must have her! He thought to himself. I know it is taboo, but I must have her!

Anjaika would wake up beside him and ask, "what's keeping you up, Fjorn?"

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep." Fjorn pensively.

Fjorn's plan to unite fairies required charisma—charisma which he had in abundance.

Every time he captured an enemy tribe, he would give a speech. A speech which inspired the newly captured tribe.

A speech that made them feel invincible... A speech that made them irrevocably loyal to Fjorn.

"Strength is the way of fairies, and strength is how we will invade and capture all other kingdoms. We fairies have tried hundreds of times before to breach Maribel walls, and we have always failed. It is because those who tried were weak. And they were weak because they were spoiled and coddled like our enemies in Maribel who have only known prosperity and bountiful, peaceful lands..." Fjorn paused and took a breath—looking upon the newly captured tribe members with purpose. "The fairy goddesses made us strong by making this treacherous and barren land our birthplace. We have only known toil and hardship, and even the weakest fairy is twice as strong as the strongest human because of it. We all know why the goddesses have blessed us with this strength; it is because they wish for us to create their desired world where only the strong survive. I see before me the strongest people on Yharos! The people who will create the world we all desire! Maribel will only be the beginning!"