"Life for us fae-folk changed when the dragons came to Fotiá, in many different ways."
A young fae girl looked up from her reading to see her grandfather wandering over towards his favourite oakwood chair. The elder's movements were hindered and weak. His round, once-handsome face was covered in lines, spots and loose folds of skin, as the entirety of his complexion mimicked. His warm, brown eyes often held a compassionate expression to them, but today they were dark and empty. Witnessing Grandfather in this weak state saddened the fae girl, so she decided to close her book and listen to him.
The little girl tossed aside the book of myths she had been reading and tumbled over to Grandfather's side with a giggle and a sweet smile up at him. This expression of happiness earned a soft chuckle from the senior creature. Without a second thought, Grandfather picked up his granddaughter and placed her in his lap. He ran his skeletal fingers through the girl's hair, while being careful as to not touch the pair of golden gossamer wings flittering at her back.
"My, how your wings have grown since I have last seen you, my child." He murmured, his gaze becoming sad once more. "Time does not stop for anyone, no matter what you have done for life itself." Grandfather glanced up at the ceiling, watching sap slowly drip down the far side of the wall with his sad, hazel eyes. The girl followed his gaze to the dripping fluid, before tearing her eyes off of it and back up at Grandfather.
"What do you mean, Grandfather?" The fae girl finally spoke. Her voice was extremely high-pitched, like a bird's cry. Grandfather shook his head.
"Do not trouble your young mind over it. I will explain it to you when you get older. Alright?" The girl nodded. "Now, back to that story, yes?" The girl nodded a second time. "Good."
Grandfather repositioned himself in his wooden chair, and let out a sigh. "Now, the dragons are powerful, productive, and once-terrible creatures. During the Dark Ages, they roamed the world in groups that they called Clans, or Fylís. Each of the Fylís controlled a country in Fotiá and ruled them with an iron talon. They never showed mercy. Fire rained down on cities that resisted the Draconic Rule, and numerous fae-folk died."
The fae girl shivered and clung to Grandfather's tattered tunic made of oak leaves and silk. Her sharp nails bore into the already mangled article of clothing that the old man wore. This action caused the old faerie to wince, but he did not pry the terrified young girl off of him. Instead, Grandfather gently stroked her head and her back to soothe her.
"I am sorry that I frightened you, my granddaughter." He reached up and ran his fingers through his long, silvery hair that appeared to look like spider silk. "But do not fret, Elafína. You did not let me get to the next part of the tale. You see, the violent Dragon Queen Agnetha, after her savage reign of death and terror, disappeared. With her disappearance came relief, comfort, and another ruler of the dragons."
Elafina turned her scared gaze back up at her grandfather. "A-Another one? What happened? What happened?"
Grandfather laughed, amused by his granddaughter's enthusiasm. "Settle down, my dear. I am getting there." With that, he began to conclude the tale. "As Agnetha fell out of power. King Chronos rose to it. He was a dominant, powerful dragon Lord with scales as black as night and muscles bigger than a minotaur's body. Some believed that he could knock down mountains with a single roar, and destroy whole forests with one swipe of his tail. But his soul was not as black as his scales, no, his heart was as golden as Agnetha's crowns."
The fae girl was intoxicated. Elafína leaned in a little bit more."C-Could Chronos really do all of those things, Grandfather?"
Grandfather laughed again, his large, light brown wings fluttering a little as he did. The skin near his eyes seemed to crinkle a little when he smiled. "I highly doubt it, my dear child. But what he could do with his terrifying power was close to that level. Either way, he wiped the discord and chaos from the face of the land and restored Fotiá to its former glory—how it was before the Dark Ages. And that's how it stayed to this day." He finished with another smile.
Elafína clasped her chubby-fingered hands together. "That was a great story, Grandfather!" She exclaimed as she tumbled off of his lap. The faerie girl managed to start moving her tiny wings before she hit her head on the ground. Since her wings were far too small to carry her anywhere yet, she lowered herself back onto the quilted carpet where she had been sitting before.
"I do hope you aren't telling Elafina those tall tales of yours, Dryos..." An older woman emerged from the kitchen. She had a heart-shaped face, and a pale, flawless complexion. The faerie's eyes were a piercing grey and seemed like they could tear right through you with one serious glance. Her grey hair was in an uncomfortable bun, but if let down it would fall into shiny silver ringlets. She flew over to Elafína and plucked her off the ground.
"Ach, Chioni...you know that those are anything but tall tales." Grandfather protested while rising from his chair. These words earned another giggle from the fae girl.
Chioni, or Grandmother, huffed softly and turned back towards her husband. "Those tales of yours gave Elafína nightmares for weeks afterwards. No more until she gets older." Both the girl and Grandfather wilted a little as the hammer was dropped.
"Grandmother, noooooo! I promise, I won't have any nightmares anymore!" Elafína howled, balling her fists up. "Don't take Grandfather's stories!"
Grandmother's thin lips pursed a little. "Hmph. Perhaps he should write them into a book?" She suggested. "Then you could read them instead. You do love books of myths, yes?" The last sentence earned a furious glare from Grandfather.
"They are not myths, woman!" The faerie grunted, before faltering a little. "Hmm...a book. Perhaps I will." With that, Grandfather spread his wings, flew shakily over to Grandmother, and took Elafína in his arms. "Aah, my dear, sweet child. A book I—no, we. A book we will write!" He declared while swinging the little girl in his frail arms.
Tinkling, jovial laughter filled the room. This eventually came to a stop as the ground started trembling. "Hm...?" Grandmother took Elafína back from Grandfather's arms and took flight. "Is it an earthquake?" Grandmother queried, looking to Grandfather for guidance. He was a faerie of the earth, after all.
But Grandfather said nothing. He had turned terrifyingly pale, and his arms and legs were trembling more than they usually did. "We have to get out of here." He finally whispered.
He didn't have to tell Grandmother twice. She held Elafína close, grabbed their cloaks, and burst out of the treehouse with Grandfather in tow. What they saw would be seared into their memories for the rest of their lives.
Everything below them was on fire. It was a sea of death and heat. Flames licked at and destroyed everything that it touched. The faefolk who once lived in the forest were either fleeing or being burned alive in their homes. The stench of smoke and burning leaves, wood, and grass made them cough and choke.
Elafína started to cry. Grandmother attempted to shield her granddaughter from the smoke and from the heart-wrenching sight below them. "What is causing this?!" Grandmother exclaimed.
Grandfather, who had been unresponsive, shakily rose a thin, bony hand and extended a finger. "Look."
A massive, hulking figure was nestled in a burning tree parallel from theirs. It's body was covered in scales as big as a knight's shield—but these scales were a shiny red. Muscles rippled under these metallic scales. Its golden talons dug into the ashen tree, making the branch snap immediately. The creature would have plummeted into the fiery inferno below, but the gargantuan's wings beat powerfully at its sides. Its mouth twisted into a fanged grin at the family of fae, those fangs being the size of bananas. It let out a hoarse, rumbling laugh, before snapping its jaws shut.
"It has been peaceful for far too long in Fotiá, Lord Dryos." The creature spoke. Its voice was terrible—it was raspier than his laugh. "Far, far too long. You Fae do not deserve such peace." Its pupils narrowed like a cat's, before it opened its jaws and blew another spout of fire directly towards the family.
Elafína felt herself plummeting down, down, down, towards the hellfire. "Grandfather!" She screeched. "Grandmother!" The fae girl cried out for her caretakers. But no help would come. She tried flying, but to no avail.
She banged into a burning tree branch. The branch struck her wings, and they immediately caught fire. They burned for a while, before there wasn't much left to burn.
All Elafína could do now was cry and await her fate. She felt her back getting hotter and hotter as she neared the sea of fire that awaited her. The girl finally shut her eyes, stopped crying, and hit the ground.
But was this the ground? Elafína didn't feel like she was being burned alive. Maybe she had died?
Slowly, but surely, she began to lose consciousness.