Hannah the First, Fairy of CrIsis

Oh, wow….

I mean, sure, before now I’d never even heard of CrIsis, but after reading their books, the anticipation to be one of them was almost more than I could bear. Of course I had to finish the books, all the way to the bitter end, and I knew from the stories I read that it was pretty much guaranteed that I would be replacing one of them, but to be replacing Asher of all people.

Not-Awesome.

So, after we faced off against the dragon, it was like I didn’t even exist to them. They were lost in their own little worlds, and diminutive as I am, I can escape notice. That’s a good thing, usually, but I really wanted to become a part of the group, and all but the Wolven ignored me. It felt as though I were invisible, but more I think they were lost in their grief. Asher seems to have meant a lot to them, and his demise really changed something in them.

So, I ate vegetables from the side of the road, gathered during periods when I could easily find them along the long stretches of empty road. Being able to fly is certainly of assistance when keeping up with slow plodders like CrIsis.

Awesome was finally getting my very own fireside chat! I was finally a member of CrIsis for reals. Just because I have this awesome Isis Torch Ring, and I love the design, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t feel a part of the group until they actually stopped and acknowledged me. I’m going to do my best in the future not to allow anyone in the group to feel as ostracized as I felt during that journey.

And then Indaris has the gall to try to send me away, calling me ‘little one’ and thinking that just because I am a fairy I can’t be of help. Ooh, I wanted to claw his eyes out or shoot them full of arrows, which would have been more fun. Just because he’s a priest of Isis doesn’t give him the right to treat people like that. I might have tried to destroy him then and there if it hadn’t been for Xer’xses distracting me at the fateful moment.

So, I tell them that I’m a ranger, and again Indaris questions me, as if I would lie to him. My mother taught me never to lie. The truth is much more fun. So, here again, he is questioning me, and so I just drag Raulf off into the woods with me so we can hunt an elk. Sure, I can’t drag the thing back myself, which is why I brought a mule with me, but they could have at least been more appreciative when I did it.

Nope, they just ate and accepted it as their due. Ugh. I have to travel around the world with a bunch of no account bachelors, and they’re going to treat all the work I’m doing as their due. I would pepper their food liberally with Fairy Food if I didn’t need them more than they need me right now. Without me, they can continue their quest. Without them I’m just one fairy against the world. I know I wouldn’t be able to complete jack.

So, we eat, we rest and we move on. Their long time adversaries…well now my adversaries too I guess, ReSet decided to ambush them. If I’d been paying more attention I might have been able to determine that they were about, but I was distracted by Xer’xses. The man sure knows how to talk, and his bashful nature is just too cute. I’m going to love tormenting him, I can tell.

So, ReSet begins to attack us from the trees firing lightning arrows and turning people to stone. One even tries to attack me, but I dropped a cloud of smoke on us, interrupting her, or his, aim. We regrouped in the smoke and began a counter attack and the pansies ran once more away from us. I think it’s high time CrIsis got rid of all the extraneous parts that we’re carrying around with us.

Our next major stop was the giant phallus of Osiris, not to be confused with the Member of Osiris, that resides in Timiro. Actually, they’re both now in Timiro…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Personally, I expected it to be a bit bigger. It is only about fifty feet tall. I mean, I’m expecting at least four pelegowats, but hey, the rest of CrIsis considered it to be impressive, so I had to let them have their moment. Considering it would be shorter than the length of Rogtilda, or at least so the books tell me, it really wasn’t all that big.

Xer’xses spread the godly seed across the ground in front of the statues…Oh my Bennu, I completely forgot my statue. There is a statue of a Fairy in the stone garden of CrIsis. It stands a full four times my size and I posed on it’s head and was even drawn by Indaris while standing there. Don’t get me wrong, I still plan retribution on him, but I have to admit that he does have his uses, and he is a singular artist of surpassing skill…and no he didn’t pay me to say that. I can’t carry the coin he offered me.

So, after we admired the stoned CrIsis members we walked toward the Obelisk, which I would consider godly over-compensation were it not for the fact that it wasn’t Osiris who built the thing…I get the sinking feeling that if I continue to comment on the gods like this that I will suffer my own divine retribution and it won’t be the funny get up and walk it off sort either.

Back to the sailors. So, Xer’xses performed his ritual with the phallus…member…thing and corn sprouted from the barren earth. We decimated the crops and allowed the citizens of the town to take the rest with our blessing. As soon as we were done there, we allowed Father Philip to lead us down into the body of the earth. I can’t see how any of the others could stand that confining place. There wasn’t enough air to breathe down there, and I was the smallest of them. They put on brave faces, saying how they didn’t mind it at all, but that’s men for you. Unable to admit to any insecurity. I seem to have my work cut out for me.

In my best impression of a satyr spreading chaos I touched Xer’xses and willed him to save me from death under ground. Only after he had saved me from the tomb did I realize that I’d cast a Love Charm on him. I was torn by my embarrassment of using such a powerful magic on a friend and relief at being out of that stinking, polluted…but then they came up and told us that all of the active members of CrIsis had to be in that hole at the same time.

Xer’xses was possibly the most conscientious person that I have ever had under a love charm. Not once did he try to take advantage of me. He was warm and considerate and asked me if I would go down with him again into that place that I feared. He thought of me, and not about what he could get from me. I want that again, but without compulsion, without magic.

I just don’t think it will be possible to get that for one such as I. Fairies aren’t made for Love. Not with the normals. We are made for derision and pranks. Their derision, our pranks.

So, we went back into that grave and Indaris copied down a large map of the Palladium world. Scattered across this map were temples of Osiris, many of which CrIsis had already already visited. They were the houses of the parts of Osiris. In counting the temples remaining, and comparing that to the known pieces of Osiris we still have to find some interesting information comes to me: we only have 4 more pieces of Osiris to gather, and we only know where three of those pieces are.

I know that one of the pieces, the member, came from another reality, one truly different from our own. Could it be that this last piece also resides in one of these pocket dimensions?

Armed with the information that the First Pyramid of Orisis was indeed a true resting place for one of the pieces of Osiris we ventured there and laid the member to rest. I was able to assist in placing it, and a truly memorable experience it was…one I won’t even record here.

We returned to Rogtilda after, and I met the boat. Roggan, my word is he a great being, and powerful being, a happy being. Truly happy. He greeted people so powerfully as they came aboard, and I think I might be a little in love with his simplicity. Indaris thought to bring sand from the desert around the temple to Roggan, and I will have to do so myself the next time we drop off a piece, which should be soon, now that we know all the houses for the pieces.

Life on the ocean is pleasant so far. True, we sped our journey with the Lung of Osiris, but even so, I love the ocean more than I ever believed that I could. In the back of my mind, I’ve always been a little worried about all that water, and salt water at that. I know what it would do to my wings were I to be completely submerged. Even so, the ocean is immense and beautiful. I love sailing. My only regret is that my being here has robbed CrIsis of a pair of hands to help sail the boat. I hope that the gods send us a new pair soon that we might better be able to fulfil our quest.

We arrived in Credia in order to give to them Xer’xses Sword and Asher’s Ring, but before we could leave the ship, Xer’xses had a request of me. He asked that I give some of my life force to him in the form of Mana. It was only about a third of my Mana, but even so that was something I’d never done for anyone, and I can only think that I wouldn’t have done it for someone other than Xer’xses.

He made an offhand comment of making me a boyfriend while we were performing the ritual, and then he crafted a duplicate of himself. I don’t know what to think. His comment makes me think that he might know how I feel, and it terrifies me. He has rejected me, or at least has rejected what he sees of me so far. I have to change his mind, and maybe making Annie reject him will be the best way to do that.

Written by Hannah on the Somethingth day of something in the something year of something else.

Picture by our own AZ Rune.