"Short" Stories: A Faeries Dance

Well hello again Branch Walker, my how the twisted canopy of the Tree brings one to strange and convoluted places. Allow me to introduce myself once more, It may have been quite some time since we last spoke directly. I am the Imperial Scholar that walks the Branches of the Tree. Sojourner of extraplanar conversations. Cosmically enlightened, a sort of liaison to the eyes behind the story. The voice to speak to those who have found themselves here.

Ah, but I digress. I have a way of rambling on in tedious ways that some find unappealing. Sit, come listen. Pull up a chair, find a comfortable place. Perhaps a strong drink in hand, perhaps not. Soft music lilting in those strange things over your ears, perhaps not. Either way. Let me tell you of a story, one that doesn't get as much focus in my Manuscript. While I enjoy regaling the tale of the Moon Bourne Flower, I do enjoy the occasional diatribe.

So let me tell you about Neaves and how her story begins. Here you shall find a much more organized layout of her story as I have written about her and her life. One with a bit more coherence, one where one needn't hunt for information. I shall regale you of it's chronological nature, might I add, with some additional commentary.

Though a few things will need to be made known. Well, I should say a bit of context. Neaves is a Mistwalker, an alternate variant of Fairy. Though to say variant is somewhat incorrect, mutant would be better. Though to the denizens of the Great Tree, they would call them no such thing. I invite you to read up on the Clan of the Wide Eyes more before continuing.

She is also an Ember as well as part of The Shrine Guard. An Ember is a subculture of the Mistwalkers that had their wings damaged during their baptism rites in their infancy. From my observations of these people, they take this to mean that the Embers have a damaged connection to their goddess and the Sun after this unfortunate event takes place. They are an ostracized group in the Clan, protected and raised by the High Priestess who becomes their adoptive mother. Weep not for their fate, shed no tears for their "damage". For they are or' powerful, they are wise due to their mother's vigilance. Little do they know that Shadows corrupt and warp, that broken wings in the Legions of their true Goddess are a sign of power. An open connection, not a broken one!

So let us begin as through the mind of the Godhead as she came into being.

I saw this Corrupted Fairy perched atop a great spire. Her wings like molten fire, so engrossed she was in her own thoughts that I could not help but stare deep into her mind. Neaves, like all the Embers had been trained to suppress her emotions, well all but her fellow Embers and their High Priestess. She tackles her own conflicting emotions about her place in the clan, about how she feels about being an Ember.

The mind is a labyrinth of meandering corridors. One can get lost in their mind if they don't focus. Lose not the purpose of your thought, lose not the point of that discipline. Though one must walk the darkened corners to understand, one needs to understand how it all fits together.

We also see one of the main players of the world here, a Mysterious dichotomy of absolutes and indefinites. Syn or Azu, which is which? Does it matter? I may have an understanding of this goddess, but... Well, that's for me to know... for now.

Continuing her story in the middle of it, I enjoy dropping stories in the middle. A nice place to start confused only to grow familiar quickly. Though Neaves in this case is having a bit of a crisis of faith. An earlier argument I was privy to witness, resulted in Aafje becoming exasperated with her child. Sending her away to believe once more in the words of their Goddess.

And what can one say when we know we are needed somewhere? What if we reject our duties to tend to our own needs? What if all our fear and doubt eats into our minds? What if eroded self control spills out the words the heart needs to share, but our duty forces us to stop?

So what should one do when those we hurt smile back at us and give us nothing but love in return? Neaves is a naive young woman, so suppressed in her emotional development that she fails to see the hurt her words cause until it's too late.

Here we see the moment before Neaves has embarked on her self exile from the Clan of the Wide Eyes. Taking but a brief moment to enjoy a bittersweet moment with her brother Ryhs. While they are not related, they were raised together under Mother Aafje's care. She does try and bring him with her, she knows Ryhs is unhappy with his position in the clan as well. Though he also knows it is a futile gesture, Ryhs is far too loyal to Aafje to just abandon her.

At this moment, Neaves would have to realize that she will be alone. Truly alone in the world from here on out, at least until she can find this Goblin woman from her dreams. She will be forced to grow, she will be forced to adapt, she will learn to be happy on her own accord. Though a road less traveled is never an easy path, a well traveled road with ruts in the way will only leave once course of fate for the wagon that travels in familiar routes.

And while her story continues on, while I see the path of her life through the branches. I have told all I can for the moment while the canopy obscures my vision. Fret not! Her story will continue! She will become a prominent figure in the next manuscript I say be writing about the Story of The Great Tree!