The Outlander Fae and the Tattered Wolf Prince

Faevara

“So, we’ll start with the world—it's called Vitalia.”

I watch Briggs with rapt attention as he paces in front of us. I had hoped Jesse would be the one to tell me about their world, but I’m finding that Briggs is an excellent storyteller. He could have been a professor in another life, I marvel.

“Within Vitalia, there are four kingdoms, each on separate continents: Hammerlocke, which is where you are now; Signa, which is our hoity-toity rival kingdom to the east; Veils, which is the northern territory filled with true animals and whatever Elves are left in the world; and finally, to the south, the Shadowland, which is where most of the world’s monsters—and Dwarves—tend to live.”

There are Elves and Dwarves in this world, too? 

I’m not going to lie—that’s kind of cool.

“You,” Briggs continues, “have landed yourself in the kingdom that happens to be the hot spot for the Great War—that is, the war between Hammerlocke and Signa.”

I try not to grimace too obviously. Of course, I have.

“Don’t beat yourself up too bad,” Ollie tells me cheerfully. “Beatton—that’s the part of Hammerlocke we’re in now—is Shifter territory. Meaning it’s mostly safe from the larger and bloodier battles. Normalia don’t like to f**k with us when they can avoid it.”

“Language,” scolds Jesse, shoving the boy playfully. He smiles easily at me. “He’s right—this is one of the safest places in Hammerlocke for you, as long as Lyons keeps buying your story.”

“And who, exactly, is Lyons?” I ask him. “In relation to all this?”

“He’s the Lord Protector of Beatton,” Briggs explains, “appointed by King Brendan—the king of Hammerlocke. Lyons technically answers to the king, but we tend to live by our own set of rules around here.”

Symone snorts. “If that were true, we wouldn’t be involved in the Normalia’s wars at all. There’s still a draft in Hammerlocke, and Shifters are very much included in that draft.”

“Lyons claims that he needs to keep his best forces here, to protect Beatton,” Jesse explains to me. “And the king lets him get away with it. So, technically, we’re the king’s soldiers, too.”

“Is that why you called yourselves the Tattered Companions?” I ask Briggs and the others.

Briggs looks strangely amused by that question. He glances at Jesse, who gives a sharp shake of his head, as if wanting to hide something from me.

I don’t much like that, but I also just hid something from him, so I suppose there’s not much I can say about it.

“It’s just an inside joke,” Jesse tells me dismissively. “Anyway, there’s a bit more you should know. The place we told Lyons you’re from—Bridgeport—is a Normalia port city near the east coast—that is, the coast closest to Signa. It’s rare to find families of Old Vitalia these days, and even rarer to find them in Hammerlocke. But there are a few in Bridgeport.”

“Lyons doesn’t care for Bridgeport,” Symone warns me, “nor any other Normalia city. But he, and the rest of us, are taught to have a healthy respect for Old Vitalian families, so it was still smart of Jesse to make up that story.”

“What is—or was—Old Vitalia?” I ask them. I remember Jesse mentioning the color of my eyes being the color of Old Vitalia, but I'm still a little lost.

“Thousands of years ago,” explains Briggs, “all four continents were one, large one. Back then, the lands were crawling with Fae—there were even more of them than there were of Shifters or Normalia. But the Normalia envied the Fae and coveted their power, so they developed weapons and other means of forcing them to bend to their will. In an effort to protect themselves, the Fae used the bulk of their power to separate the land into four, separate regions, hoping that each species could have their own, peaceful kingdoms: the elves to the north; the dwarves to the south; the Normalia to the east; and the Fae to the west.”

So the Fae wanted to live in what is now Hammerlocke—the place I am now. At least it sort of explains why I showed up here. “What about Shifters?”

“Shifters came after the split," explains Jesse. "The Fae created them out of their most trusted Normalia—the ones who protected them in Old Vitalia and then came with them to what is now Hammerlocke, rather than joining the other Normalia in what is now Signa. The power to shift was the gift the Fae gave them as a reward for their loyalty."

I'm certainly impressed. “Fae are that powerful?”

“Were that powerful,” corrects Symone. “The combined effort of splitting the world in fourths and creating a new species killed off the majority of them and weakened the rest. Once the Signa heard how much weaker they were, they crossed the Middle Sea and started taking over Hammerlocke.”

“And that’s the Great War we’re still in?” 

“Yes, and no,” says Briggs. “King Brendan and the other Normalia who rule Hammerlocke today are descendants of those very enemies who once fought for Signa. But those ancestors decided they would rather join forces with their new, Shifter neighbors and take Fae as slaves than fight for Signa. So they had their own, little revolution, and that brings us to where we are today.”

I bite my lip, trying to take it all in. I won’t lie—it’s fascinating. But it’s also heartbreaking. “So Lyons is a Shifter—a descendent of the creatures who risked their lives to protect Fae—and yet he takes Fae as slaves?”

“Would take,” Jesse corrects, “if he had the opportunity. King Brendan would probably allow it—he’s got four or five of his own already—but they’re incredibly rare.”

“Are they enslaved in Signa, too?” 

“Technically, no,” Jesse says, frowning. “But I’d hardly call their Fae ‘free.’”

“More like Ventara,” says Briggs. It takes me a minute to process the word—there’s no direct translation for it in English—but the closest word my brain can find is Geisha.

“I don’t understand,” I say, furrowing my brow. “Why would Fae be used as slaves and high-end prostitutes, instead of being forced to fight in the war?”

Symone looks amused. “A Fae, in a war? Please! They’re about as violent as butterflies.”

“Even generations back, before Fae magic weakened,” Jesse explains to me, “it was never really used for warfare or violence. They used it to create, and to better the world—not to harm it.”

“But…” I think back to the bear I killed, and my frown deepens. “I snapped that bear’s neck without really even meaning to. How could that be possible if my powers are only to ‘create’?”

Jesse looks down at his feet, seeming uncomfortable with my question. “You were using telekinesis without having practiced it, is all. Once you get the feel of it, it won’t be so violent.”

I glance at the others, who seem to have their doubts. I can’t blame them; I’m not sure what else such an ability would be good for. Rearranging plants?

“There is a legend about a stronger Fae,” says Ollie quietly. “Vassala Faevara.”

Jesse looks back up at that, expression suddenly dark. “It’s a preposterous, old wives’ tale.”

I straighten, curiosity piqued. “I’d like to hear it.”

Briggs takes over from there. “It is said that when the Fae are all but extinct, the Faevara will come into the world—that is, the strongest of all Fae. Her power will rain down on the citizens of Vitalia by punishing all who have sinned and raising up all who have demonstrated purity of heart and strength of character.”

“Religious fanaticism,” says Symone with a wave of her hand. “I’m sure you have something like it in your world—the threat of a messiah coming in and forcing people to answer for their crimes.”

Judgment day, I think grimly. Not exactly something I’ve ever personally believed in; should I have any reason to believe in this Faevara business?

“It’s late,” says Jesse, clearing his throat. “We should all get some rest. We’ll talk more in the morning.”