Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
T he Fae council meeting was not what I would have expected. We were sitting cross legged under a giant willow tree in the Fae village. The villagers were going about their business all around me, and I will admit I was struggling to focus on the council members. I was fascinated by the Fae and their constant use of magic in their every day actions. The air, too, was filled with a riot of smells as the scent of everyone’s magic wafted through the forest.
I watched as one young girl used her magic as she tended to her garden, pausing as she sniffed a bloom, then coaxing another bud to blossom. I smiled with her, her joy infectious. My eyes wandered over villager after villager as I studied their movements, watching them use magic as casually as one would breathe, and realized there were but a handful of children. Idly, I wondered where the rest were as I watched a young man use magic to coax a wave of water up from a well and into his bucket.
“Katharina?”
“Sorry?” I whipped my head around as Aldric called my name to find the entire Fae council looking my way. Heat crept up my cheek as I tried to ignore my embarrassment. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
Aldric smiled. “We were just speaking of magic. Did you have any questions for us about the subject?”
Did I ever. “I think it would be best to start with the very fundamentals. I’m afraid I don’t know much about it.”
Another council member tilted his head. It was hard to tell age amongst the Fae, but he seemed to be one of the youngest Fae here, and the only council member with a beard. “Do you not have magic of your own?”
“I do, but,” I shifted awkwardly. “I wasn’t raised around others with magic, and have had to keep it hidden my whole life. Everything I’ve learned about it I’ve taught myself.”
A muttering rumble rolled through the council. My skin pebbled at the sound, unsure what to make of it.
“You mean to say you are untrained, yet we could feel the echoes of your power even here?” This came from the Fae to the left of Aldric, a Fae male with a surprisingly large nose for a Fae.
“Um, yes?” Why were they all looking at me like that?
Aldric cleared his throat. “It has been a long time since we have heard of a human with magic, and even then most have minimal power. Witches, and even Fae, with greater power like yours often struggle to access and channel their power, and without significant training and meditation it can harm the Fae or witch who wields it. That you are able to do so is a great credit to yourself.”
“Thank you,” I nodded my head to him. “Is - is that what human magic wielders are actually called? I thought “witch” was an insult?”
“An insult?” One of the two Fae women named Ottilia spoke up, a brash woman with short spiky hair that I secretly wanted to touch to find out if it really was as sharp as it looked. “Why would that be an insult?”
The oldest looking Fae shushed the loud female and turned back to me. I’d never before seen a Fae with gray hair, and as I looked closer I thought it looked more like silver than the dull gray I was accustomed to seeing in Bur?l. “Child, do you know the history of magic?”
I nodded. “There were two people groups, each with their own gifts. The humans were gifted with strength and fertility and the Fae with grace and magic. But over the generations the two groups intertwined somewhat, and their children often had a mixture of the gifts given to the two people. But not everyone was happy about this, and eventually it led to civil war and the banishment of the Fae from Velen and they were run out of the country.”
Aldric shook his head. “No, that is what your King wants you to believe. The truth is far more complex.”
I shouldn’t be shocked, but somehow I am. I could definitely believe the King to be arrogant enough to want to change history. “What is the truth, then?”
Aldric turned to the eldest Fae, “Warinot, would you be so kind?”
A humming seemed to fill the space under the tree, and everyone sat up straighter as Warinot cleared his throat. “The Fae were indeed blessed with grace and magic, and the humans were indeed blessed with strength and fertility, that much is true. However, the Fae had been living in this land for as far back as our records go, yet we were a dying race. Children are rare among my people, but then they were rarer still. We were the patron people of Lada, the goddess of grace and beauty, and she saw the distress of our ancestors and had grace. She brought to us the human race, intending us to strengthen each other, and for a short time, it worked. Yet, the humans were unsatisfied with their newfound magic and desired more. Their jealousy grew to such heights that civil war indeed broke out, and we were persecuted and forced from our home. We sought sanctuary here in Tresilben and have been living in hiding from the King’s line since.”
“That’s… a lot. So we were originally brought here to save the Fae, but instead we took over?” I knew how much some humans hated the Fae, and now, having heard this story, I wondered if some of the Fae hated us in return.
“No, Lada brought humans here so we could help save each other. Humans are fertile, but brash and easily killed. Fae were not fertile, but we are hardy and long lived. Her goal was that together we could find a balance.”
“I see.”
Aldric piped up, “There are some among us who have allowed bitterness to take up residence in their heart, but most are content to live their lives strengthening their connection to nature and their magic. It is a simple but fulfilling life.”
“Having heard our tale,” the quieter Fae female spoke up, and I turned to her, intrigued, “are you ready to tell us about your magic and how it came to be?”
I exhaled deeply. My turn. “I was told I got my magic from my father, but he was killed when I was just an infant. My-my Mutti loved him deeply and speaking of him just made her miss him more, so I didn’t ask her much about him. I’m not sure she ever really got over his death. Mutti and I lived in the castle until I was 16, and I was banished from Rennessen for using magic. I found my way to Bur?l and settled there until recently.”
“You lived in the castle?” Aldric asked, shocked.
“It was tough keeping my magic hidden,” I nodded. “I remember I used to sneak out into the courtyard at night when everyone was sleeping to let out some of my magic when it got too painful to keep in, but then I discovered that I could heal people, most of the time without their knowing, and that helped to manage it better.”
“You mean to say,” Ottilia said, “that you learned to heal on your own? Without training?”
“Well, I was friends with the King’s healer, and he would teach me about his craft. Then one day a friend of mine got hurt, and - well. My magic just seemed to know what to do,” I shrugged. I remembered that day vividly, the fear I felt just as poignant now as it was then.
“Magic doesn’t have agency.” That came from the youngest council member, and I bristled at the dismissal in his tone.
“What Lothur means to say,” Aldric cut in with a glare at Lothur, “is that magic is a part of us. It is not an independent spirit.”
What did that say about me? “Mine seems to have a mind of its own,” I offered. The Fae council had so far held up their end of the bargain, and I needed to get to the bottom of my magic acting up.
“Could you explain?”
I took a deep breath. “Lately, when I use my magic, it - doesn’t do what I intend. Sometimes, it even feels like it rebels…” My voice trailed off as the shocked faces around me registered.
“That is… concerning. I will speak with Ruhan about that, maybe he can help identify the source of your magic’s malady.”
“You mean the Dark Fae?” No way was I going to allow him access to my magic.
“He is the most knowledgeable and advanced in magic,” Aldric explained indulgently.
I just crossed my arms and raised my eyebrow. We’ll see about that.
“Until then, could you give us a demonstration of your magic?” The big nosed Fae, I think his name was Zarlec, leaned forward as he asked.
Hesitantly, I stood up, brushing my hands off on my clothes as I did. Aldric nodded encouragement to me, and I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
Reaching out to grab a nearby willow branch, I begged my magic to comply, for once. Breathing deeply, I closed my eyes and reached for my magic, feeling it’s irritation. I ignored it and pushed, trying to force it into submission, to obey me. I bit back a growl as it resisted.
With a heaving shove, I demanded it respond, and it gave in suddenly, rushing into the branch I was holding.
With a yelp, I let go of the willow branch now covered in thorns, a few splinters still stuck in my hand. I sucked them out as Warinot slowly stood and looked at what my magic had done.
“You are no longer in harmony with your magic.”
I barely resisted rolling my eyes. What is it about older men of any race that they like to state the obvious? “Can you help me fix it?”
The silver haired Fae shook his head, and my heart sank. “The only one who can help untangle this magic’s ailment is Ruhan. If he cannot help you, I’m afraid no one can.”
Well, verdak .