This is the tale of
::Pale Owl::
::Pale Owl::
First there was Butterfly - our Goddess of long ago who still resides within our hearts; the Goddess of the fairy folk who also ruled over the forest creatures such as the centaurs, the fauns, the trolls, and my people - known only as the Wild Ones - who were creatures inbetween.
Butterfly, who then was captured by a rebel gang of forest bandits, saved by the human William who then acquired the sacred collar of power, leading him to the realm of our Gods in the quest to marry our woodland Goddess.
Butterfly, who died within the arms of the human who dared love her, after he slayed Lady Cosette and Aeschylus - the King and Queen of the Gods.
Butterfly, the Goddess who died.
Then there was Riverwisp, fairy Queen who ruled in her place and restored peace to the kingdom grieving our beautiful Goddess' demise as well as the fall of the King and Queen of the Gods, themselves. In time, those that lived within her realm came to know happiness, again, and life flourished once more. Before the realms of Gaia's humanity spread onward.
Riverwisp, who evacuated her people during the unforeseen human invasion that occurred within our territory, but drained all her power in doing so, and had none when the man-made tree eaters swallowed her along with the kingdom we had lived, fought, and died for.
Riverwisp, the Queen who fell.
Those that remain of those times are scattered. Centaurs and Elves, who had been under Butterfly's rule during her existance, had always been separate enough to reside in what was always considered as their own territories, so by the time of Riverwisp's death, they were fully prepared and capable to defend themselves and move elsewhere - some refusing to leave their territories and thus establishing bases on the outskirts of the human settlements that took over where their proud forest once stood. Fairies and their kind, though fragile, were also able to escape easily through their magick - hiding amongst the humans, for their woods were still under attack and the homes of the humans provided good shelter.
But what of us?
Fauns, Trolls, intelligent beasts such as the Werewolves and other talking "animals", and still more? What of the Wild Things?
Fleeing, we were scattered still more. Exhausted, starving, and scared, even more of us perished. With forests growing sparse, the cold of the outer realms crept in and sickness weeded us out further.
By the time the roar of the machines that had eaten our homes, our kingdom, and our Queen had ceased, few of us remained. Most were brought into society to grudgingly eke out a living among the humans that destroyed our kingdom. For the Wild Things in particular, this struggle was even harder.
My mother's name was Screech Owl. She was an herbalist and fortune teller in our village, and I was a pupil to her. Because of my light complexion, she named me Pale Owl, after the white-faced owls that lived in the barns and shack of our farmers. I was born in the time just before Butterfly's demise, and was well into my youth when our Queen was taken and our homes were besieged. I remember the cold of that winter, chilling through the dead trees into our bones and freezing loved ones hearts right before my eyes. Before long, I was alone, and I was terrified.
A man found me, who went by the name of Silence Maximillion - a sorcerer who was passing through the same stretch of woods I had been in. Though I was frightened, he assured me that he meant no harm and that he only wished to help me. He shared the beliefs of my people - held Gaia sacred, and sought to preserve and put to use the magick of its realms, just as the fairy folk had done, along with the rest of the forest kin. He took me in, back to his home where he returned me back to health and kept me in his care where I remain to this day, on the outskirts of Durem.
I have been assimilated into the world of the humans, but my past is not forgotten, and as one of the Wild Things I proudly show my claws and let my antlers gleam free.
