Hefeydd was first hit with the uncomfortable warmth that greeted him as he appeared through the other side of the gate that had appeared to lead him to this place. He barely spared a thought for his companion, not even imagining a reality in which she did not follow him immediately through. When you were summoned by Him, you did not leave Him waiting, that was the truth. Unpleasant things awaited those who did. He circled around the gate once, waiting for Raya, but she didn't appear right away and he quickly lost interest. Let her catch up, He was unlikely to be far, unless He was playing a game.. That could happen, he supposed, though it was highly unlikely that he would. Hefeydd frowned, looking for some kind of sign..

He took in his surroundings, noting briefly how different they were from anywhere else he had been. There had been a forest or two, rain forests, that were similar, though this one seemed different. Hefeydd couldn't immediately place what it was that was different, though. There was just something… Off. His brow furrowed with concentration until he saw the first of the mushrooms. To either side there were more, and as he drew closer, he saw that they were just the first in many that formed a large ring. He gave a cry of joy and flew around a tree, dodging hanging vines and a snake that took a snap at him. Hefeydd stopped, mid flight, and turned to face the snake. It looked back at him, mouth hung open slightly, long fangs extended and dripping venom from the tips. Hefeydd glared directly into it's eyes, unafraid. Mortals believed that some snakes would put you in a trance by doing this, but Hefeydd knew better.

"Apologize." he said, his words chilling the air, his breath causing a fog on the sudden chill. He spoke the language of the beasts, universal, or so he thought. The snake just stared back, blankly. So it was ignoring him, then. Well, Hefeydd knew how to deal with that. A mischievous grin split his face, and before anything else he looked around, almost guiltily. He still couldn't see Raya, which was good, and he was sure that He would understand the need to correct this snake's behavior. Hefeydd drew upon the well of his magic and giggled quietly to himself as he floated closer to the snake, which sensing danger, began to draw away from him far too late.

Hefeydd whistled to himself as he flew slowly back towards the fairy ring, the ring of mushrooms that was growing around a clearing within the forest. They were common, sometimes they were toadstools, or flowers, or stones. They were safe havens for fairies, sometimes used by Fey folk too. This one was especially big, so he supposed it must have been intended for a lot of fairies. As he crossed over into the fairy ring a feeling of safety washed over him, emanating from a figure clad in blacks and grays, stood in the center of the ring. Arranged around the ring were a number of carts, filled with all kinds of brightly coloured things, and other stuff. None of it could draw his attention fully away from that figure, though. The one that he knew so well. The one he owed his true loyalty to, deep down. Hefeydd grinned and spun around in loops. There were others in the ring with them, though Hefeydd didn't spy any of his own people, which was strange. There were ten others, coming from all kinds of Fey races, though they seemed to be trying to appear more human than Fey right now. Stood behind, a little way off, was another tall figure dressed similarly to the Lord before Hefeydd, though his clothing was bring gold and deep sapphire, instead of the Lord's gray and black. He wore no mask, unlike the Lord who were a gold and silver, hiding the face beneath. There was no need to question this, it just was. There was no mistaking who it was, not to one of the Fey. Hefeydd landed before his king and took a knee, bowing his head, giddy with excitement.

Ah, my First Night. The voice spoke directly into his mind, though he had the feeling that all who were in the fairy ring would be able to hear the words. I am so proud of you for coming so quickly, little one. Tell me, how go things in the courts?

Hefeydd rose to his feet and dropped immediately back down to sit, crossing his legs, looking up at his king as he thought about the question. Things within the courts were as they always were. Seelie fought Unseelie, who had no choice but to respond in kind. This led to all kinds of fun, which made Hefeydd happy enough. There had been no major war between the two, though, not for a long time. Not since the king had left the first time, in fact. They just had their games, and the occasional scuffle. Hefeydd hummed as he thought. Surely any of the others here would have been able to tell him as much? They couldn't all have been with him all this time. He knew that those who chose to follow him came and went often enough. So why would he ask him, Hefeydd, about things in which he had so little involvement? He sighed.

"Well, things never change," he shrugged as he said this, "I do my job and the other Fey do theirs." He smiled up at his king. "Are you coming back?"

Ah, little one, there is still so much for me to do. Maybe one day… Now, why don't you introduce me to your friend?

Hefeydd fell down onto his back and looked in the direction from which he had come. There was Raya, looking as she had done since he met her a little while ago. Silly and sneaky. Was she here to spy on Hefeydd's meeting with the king, to report back to the Seelie queen? What would be the point in that, though? There was nothing the queens could do. The timing was suspicious, though for Raya to know about this meeting before it happened would mean there was a traitor in the king's traveling court. Hefeydd glanced around at the assembled Fey, eyes narrowed as he eyed them all, trying to pick out the traitor.

Ah,no,there was a chuckling that accompanied this, none of them are spying on me. Your concern is welcome, my little friend. Now, introduce us.

Hefeydd sighed and got to his feet, marching over to Raya. He stood before her, looking her up and down, appraising her. At least she hadn't fallen in mud again. The dress matched her eyes, which was a nice coincidence. He wished she didn't look so… Disheveled. There was nothing they could do about that now, though. Her wings caught his eyes again, and his hand stopped, a second away from grabbing her arm roughly to pull her along. Instead he reached down and took her hand, eyes reluctantly tearing away from her wings, and urged her forwards. Her hand was surprisingly warm, the sensation was… Different. He was reluctant to let go, though he wouldn't admit such a thing to himself. Dropping he hand, he took a few more steps forward and turned to face his king.

"This silly fairy," he announced, "calls herself Raya. I think she is hiding something, and very smart about it, but I have sworn to take her back to her forest. She must be lost."

There was a scattering of gentle laughter, though when the king turned to look at the assembled Fey it cut off immediately.

A silly fairy with a secret? My my. What interesting company you are keeping. We all know that silly fairies are the best kind, don't we, my First Night?

Hefeydd bit his lip, brow furrowing for a moment. He supposed the king was right. Silly fairies were, he supposed, much more interesting than non-silly fairies. He nodded, the frown disappearing as he turned in place to smile at Raya. "Yes, they are."

Good, good. I'll talk to the two of you more later, but tell me, where do we stand now?

The frown returned to Hefeydd's brow as he thought about this, wondering if it was some kind of trick. "I… Don't know where we are… But we are in a fairy ring…"

Yes, little one, you're right. But where are the fairies?

Hefeydd looked around, spinning in place, wings beating gently to lift him from the ground. "Are they hiding?"

No, little one, I wish that they were. Some of the local… People… Took them. Captured them. Keep them in bottles. As the king said this, his gazed left Hefeydd and settled on Raya. I can tell you where to go, but I need you, my First Night, to help them. Can you and your friend do that for me?

"My… Friend…?" Hefeydd turned to look at Raya, held tilting to the side. He could still feel some of the warmth on his skin from holding her hand, however briefly it had been. He shook his head, as if to clear it of troubling thoughts, and looked back up at his king. "I would be honored to do this. It is my duty, after all!"

And you, Raya? Will you help the First Night in his duty?

A warmth greeted her at the end of the gait, it reminded the fey of the spell that had been cast on her. Arayna found the warmth comforting, the fey found the new weather preferable to the slightly chilled one they had left. The fey started to look around, and just discovering her purple-clad companion in time to see him go into a circle of mushrooms and seemingly vanish. Was he trying to escape her? Why tell her to follow if that was the case. Were they playing a game? Arayna could not help but pout, she would have liked to be instructed on the rules of the game if that was the case.

Following her companion, she paused briefly hovering in the air. Was the snake eating itself? That seemed strange. Reaching out, the fey just became more confused. It seemed as if some compulsion had overtaken the snake with a need to eat; causing the snake to end up even attempting to consume itself. Something about it reminded her of the frenzied bugs that had been part of the more anthropomorphic versions. Oh, had they gone to the “new” island. Was there something about this place that at times compelled people to do strange things. Oh no, was Hed ok? He was not under a compulsion, was he? If he was how could she break such a thing?

Losing interest in the snake and its bizarre antics the fairy hurried to the ring of mushrooms she had seen Hed disappear into. Arayna could feel the magic wash over her upon entering, it seemed to be trying to fill her with feelings of warmth and safety. Arayna shook herself, focusing on the fact that Hed might not be ok. It was not time to feel warm, safe or content, she had to make sure he was ok and help him if not. Besides, contentment was a good way to lure people into traps. Arayna was not sure why she knew that but even her very core knew it to be true; she was surer of this than her own name.

Finding the now familiar purple and silver figure was not hard. Hed was sitting by a new figure dressed in drab clothing, contently humming to himself; seemingly at ease. What was going on, Arayna did not believe for a minute she would be able to resist a spell longer than another of her kind, especially someone with a title like “First Knight.” At least he did not seem to be compelled to keep running through portals or eat himself. Arayna tried to take in just where they were now, making out the other figures standing around the circle. Though taller, and looking more human, she got a distinct impression they were kin. Oh, had this been a portal to a fey city, Hefeydd had said she had taken an age, maybe he had just been agitated and ready to go.

Arayna spotted the different colorful goods and became briefly excited. Hefeydds answer about fey and their jobs spoiled the female’s good mood. What did fairies do for jobs, could she get one and would she be able to do it? She would likely need money to buy things and attempting to steal the money from fey seemed wrong. Even though Arayna had freely taken a coin or two from many different humans. Lost in her own thoughts, she was startled when she felt something grab her hand. It had been a trap, she had let that contentment wash over her and become distracted.

Arayna’s cheeks flushed when she realized it was Hed, how many times today had he caught her unaware. The fey gave no resistance as she let herself be guided towards the figure. Arayna blush only deepened as the realization dawned on her as to how she likely looked, and something about the figure in the center made her feel decidedly uncomfortable and embarrassed to be meeting with him in such a state. The fairy contemplated traveling just about anywhere else as she listened to Hed’s introduction of her and the laughter it garnered. The only thing keeping her there was the realization that she would have to tell Hed he had only agreed to take her to a forest to meet other fairies. The way he phrased the deal would make it impossible to meet, she did not have a forest to go back to, or on that, she knew of anyway. Of course, him fulfilling their deal also meant she likely had to find a way to repay him before leaving. Maybe a silly fairy leaving would be payment enough on its own.

Arayna did no favors to herself as she blinked confusedly as the laughter died, why had that happened. The fey could not force herself to look at the figure, decidedly watching her feet. This was not like before when she did not want to look at Hed. This feeling of embarrassment felt more like shame as if the fey was unworthy to even attempt to study him. Even if he did proclaim her to be an interesting companion. Surprise widened her eyes when it was proclaimed silly fairies where the best kind. Was that title an insult or praise? Would anything about this day make any sense to her? Her confusion only grew further with Hed’s agreement. Maybe parts of this day would not be so bad to forget, feeling cold she immediately repented for the thought. She did not want any more memories to go missing.

Arayna glanced around the ring when Hed was questioned by the man. So, this was a fairy circle, she had heard of those. They were meant to be safe places for fairies, maybe that is why she felt safe here. Interest overtook her as she wondered if she would be able to create them, it would be nice to feel safe, and warm. Had she ever felt this safe before? Especially while so confused. ’It seems you are not meant to be content’ her mind offered. There had been fairies here, that were now bottled? Had Hed actually succeeded it taking her where she was from, had this been her home? No that did not seem right.

Fragmented memories plagued the fairy, being in the bottle, even if not the worst thing to happen to her, had never been pleasant. As shaky as her memories where this seemed like another certainty. To what extent she had been tormented she was unsure, the hazy fragmented thoughts could just as easily be nightmares as real memories. Their existence, whether real or imagined did not matter, being bottled and sold was responsible for them all. Though she had heard both sides of the dialogue it did not sink in that one side had been in her mind until she was directly addressed. A question from your own mind was not a thing you could ignore; no matter how engrossed in your thoughts you were.

Regaining her senses, she realized her magic had slipped. A few wisps of light, no will-o-wisps had appeared near her, ready be released to lure someone away. It had always been best to deal with irredeemable owners in ways not so easily associated with a fairy. Looking in her hand she found a ball of light, the fey found herself thankful it was something so harmless as will-o-wisps and light. Maybe that is why she had not incurred the wrath of her company. Normally getting lost in her own thoughts was a thing of embarrassment for her, feeling sheepish upon arriving out of them. This time the sheepishness did not come, all that was present was an anger she had not known herself capable of. She would gladly free her kin, and happily punish the people who took them and bottled them. After all, any punishment she could meet out would be nothing compared to the sentence her, and her kin, too.


Arayna could not help but frown, even though she felt she should be acting better in front of present company. Trying to center herself and regain control she began formulating an answer. “I would be happy to stay in your First Knights company, sir, but even not knowing him well, I cannot imagine him needing much help. Especially from a silly fairy like me. I do not think I am from or have been to this place before, Lord, so could not act as a guide. And have had very poor luck so far with interactions with other fairies. Your First Knight has been most kind to me despite this. If he thinks I could be of some use I will, I will gladly accompany him and try to live up to that expectation. Arayna tried to answer in a polite and formal manner.

Arayna could think of nothing else to say, if this was some game the two of them where playing, she was at a severe disadvantage. Though the man, no fey, had been made aware of her “title” and “name”, she had not even been granted the same privilege. The fey had decided to address him as Lord, as that was what humans seemed to do when addressing people clearly above them. The fairy tilted her head studying the figure she had previously been avoiding, would she get instructions on what to do now, or was she to be killed now for being an embarrassment to fairy kind. Well, she had wanted to meet her own kind, maybe one really should be careful what they wished for.

Hefeydd tried to pay attention to the Fey lord before him but the sudden lights that began to emerge around Raya drew his attention away. He glared at her, hoping she wasn't in the middle of doing anything that was going to embarrass him. Will-O-Wisps were beginning to form around her, little fairy lights that were used to distract mortals. What she thought she was going to do with them here was beyond Hefeydd, it was something silly he was sure though. Or maybe it was some kind of signal, a signal for her co-conspirators to finally show themselves! What was her angle, though? Did she not recognize who was standing before her, talking with her, showing her the greatest honor a fairy could hope to receive? He supposed it was possible that she didn't know, if she had been living under a rock her whole life! More likely, though, she was a traitor to her own kind and was a spy for the Seelie queen. His little fists bunched at the thought, wondering what she could possibly owe the queen to make her want to spy on the glorious figure who stood before them! A light began to form within her hand, and Hefeydd was about to take a step forward to put an end to it when Raya began to speak.

She spoke of staying in his company, of helping him with his current task, and he froze in place. What was she trying to do now?! He wanted to tear at his hear in frustration as he tried to work out what she was doing. If she was spying for her queen then why would she offer to come help him, when here her target stood? It would make more sense for her to make an excuse, some pretense to allow her to stay where she was while Hefeydd left. It wasn't too late for her to do that, though. Hefeydd hadn't left yet. That meant that when he did leave he would have to make sure she came with him, no matter what she said. His foot tapped rapidly as he began preparing different strategies, different reasons why he would need her to come with him, planning around any excuses she might come up with. Luckily her wings were dry now and she had already shown she could fly again. Surely she felt as refreshed and restored as he did, which meant she wouldn't be able to fake weariness. He hummed to himself, his wings twitching slightly as he worked through some other ways he himself might find ways to stay behind if he were in her position, and thought of the ways he would counter them. 

Chuckling filled the fairy circle, coming from within Hefeydd's mind as well as from all around. While he knew the fey lord to be the source of the sound, the sound itself seemed to come from everywhere but where the fey stood. Hefeydd grinned along with the chuckling, though he didn't understand what the reason for it was. 

Oh my wonderful little fairies, we are going to have such fun together, aren't we?

Hefeydd smiled, this time feeling it. He opened his mouth to ask how they were to find the fairies, but the king was already leaning down. He bent at the waist, leaning low, until his eyes were almost at a height with Hefeydd's, his feet still rooted firmly in place. Hefeydd didn't know much about mortals, but he suspected they wouldn't be able to bend in such ways normally. Luckily, the fey lord was no mortal. Hefeydd smiled as he looked into the dark circles in the mask where eyes should be, his head tilting to the side. His king's head tilted, too, following Hefeydd's direction. The king brought his hand forward and dangling from it, was a little gem on a small chain.

As long as you want to save the fairies more than anything else, this will lead you to them. Do you want to save them more than anything?

Hefeydd considered this, and in a rare moment of introspection, truly considered what he wanted. There was an emptiness, a lack where he supposed there should be something. He waited, hoping something would manifest, some desire, but nothing. He thought about pleasing the king, and fulfilling his duty as First Night, and there was a small glimmer. He nodded to himself at that. "Yes, I want to save them!"

There was a pause as the fey lord considered the fairy standing before him and a sadness seemed to radiate from the king.

That will do…

The thought was quiet, and the fey lord dropped the gem. Hefeydd dove forwards and grabbed it, spinning in place and holding it up to the light to look at it. It swung for a moment on the chain, as if searching for something, before hanging dead in the air. Hefeydd glared at it, but nothing happened. He looked down at the ground beneath his feet, wondering if there was anyone hiding beneath him, but there was nothing. He batted at it, and it swung for a moment, going back and forth before settling once more, completely still. Grumbling to himself, he stuffed it into one of the pockets of his robe, and looked up to ask the fey lord if there was anything he was meant to say to make it work. All the other fey were gone, though, leaving Hefeydd alone with the other fairy and silence.

"Well," he began, turning on the spot to look at Raya, "it looks like we have work to do!" his grin was bright and cheery, as he was truly happy to have been given something so important to accomplish. He was going to work hard, he swore it to himself, and punish whoever would dare steal innocent fairies and keep them in bottles. Hadn't Raya said something similar had happened to her? He thought about it, trying to remember, but he wasn't sure. If she had then maybe she knew the people. Or maybe she was involved with them! He would have to watch her even more carefully! He narrowed his eyes at her, but kept the grin plastered to his face. "We should get ready to leave. I don't know what we will find but I think we should prepare to fight…"

Hefeydd drew on a little power and summoned a tiny suit of armor, crafted for him out of the carapace of a powerful beetle he had fought. With it he summoned the little blade, made from the stinger of a wasp, another fierce battle! They had both been abnormally large, appearing recently, but he had taken care of them. The fairies that had been threatened by them had shown their appreciation by creating these for him out of their remains. He looked at all the assorted pieces of armor, and with a wave of his hand he sent most of them away. He kept the chest piece, slipping it on and strapping it into place. Fairy armor was a little more complex than mortal armor, a lot of straps and bits and pieces, because of the wings needed to remain free. It had been designed well, out of respect for who would be wearing it, and it was easy enough to get into by himself. When he was done, the dark blue armor in place over his purple robes, he strapped the sword to his side and began stretching and moving to make sure he wasn't being restricted in any way. It felt good, it was light. He shrugged and took to the air, zipping around in circles and diving a couple of times to get a good feel for it. He had worn it once, and never since, but he liked it. Maybe he would wear it more often after this. Landing, he remembered Raya and turned to face her. "Are you ready?"
Gremory hissed as she flew through the trees, attempting to escape from her pursuers. The little demon had been tricked, summoned by the creatures of this land under false pretenses. She was thankful only for two things, two strokes of luck that had seen her able to get away. Firstly, the creatures had not know her true name, summoning her under an old name that she had not realized was still known in this world. They had summoned her using the name "Granny" and she had been struck with curiosity. It had obviously been a mistake, and not one that she had foreseen. She still had no clue as to how they had pulled off that little miracle. It turned out these creatures were newly exposed to the rest of the world, the world she knew, the two continents with their many inhabitants. This was a third continent and not one she was familiar with. These creatures had found some scrolls she supposed, hidden away somewhere. What they planned to do with her she hadn't stuck around to find out. She had gazed upon their hideous faces, a statement that meant a lot from a demon, and seen the scene of horror behind them that she would have loved to have taken part in. There had been blood, plenty of it, but her instincts had told her that she wasn't going to be invited to join in with the fun part.

That was where the second piece of luck had come in. The giant insects, for that was what they resembled more than anything, were obviously very new at the business of summoning demons. Their trap had been poorly formed, and when one of them had crossed into it to snatch her up, mandibles twitching and dripping some thick liquid, she had used the opportunity to slip out of the circle and take off. They hadn't been expecting that, and she had used that surprise to make good her escape.

Except. It turned out they were pretty good at chasing. She glanced back over her shoulder at the shapes rushing through the trees, getting closer and closer. Her leathery black wings could only get her moving so quickly, and it turned out it wasn't fast enough to get away from these… Whatever these bugs were. She hissed out another breath, wondering for a moment if they were using magic to make themselves more agile. Cheating bastards. She zagged to her left but they were too fast for her. As she spun around in place, a Curse upon her lips and a ball of fire forming in her hand, a stick came hurtling towards her. Her eyes widened, but as the stick connected with her everything went black.

Arayna watched the two men’s exchange with interest, apparently, her answer had not earned her a death sentence, so maybe her luck was changing. The fairy felt over her head in this, they talked of missing fairies and fun; were those two related or were they separate things. The fairy eyed the enchanted gem dropped by the larger figure. Point to what you most wanted. Arayna frowned as she pondered what would happen if she tried using the thing, landing firmly between the idea it would spin in circles or point to her head. The fey wanted so much, to be able to know her memories, where she came from, why she was bottled and many other things. It was a good thing she had not been given the thing.
Arayna watched it expectantly when Hed took it up. Her companion had proclaimed he wanted to rescue the fairies more than anything, yet the gem remained immobile. Had something gone wrong with its enchantment? Looking around for the other fairies she noted they had vanished. Well, they had an enchanted gem that was taking a holiday and no idea where the fairies were. Vague directions would have been better. Though, at least the stone was not possibly leading them in the wrong direction.
Her concern for finding the fairies was interrupted by a new problem. A battle. Arayna had found herself in one of those before, but it had not been something she had prepared for. During that conflict she had just stayed on a large person’s shoulder and offered support to the best of her abilities. Arayna was not sure if she would be of any use in a fight with someone her size, you could not hide from them as easily. The fairy twirled strands of her hair and bit her lip, how could she be useful, would it be better just to stay out of the way. No, she had promised she would go with him and try her best.
Realizing Hed had summoned armor she turned away not knowing how such things were dawned. Frowning, she dug through her bags finding a plain robe to change into rather than her new dress. It had been fun to wear it while it lasted, but she did not want it to be ruined. Settling most of her belongings in a corner, she would take only what may be useful or necessary. Unsure, she summoned her stick she used to ward off animals that decided it would be funny to harass her. It was not much, but it would let her have something to swing at people.
Feeling compelled to be useful somehow, she began fiddling with her wisps that had been following her in all this. They would help them find the fairies unless the enchanted gem got to work. Disjointed memories of possibly using things to play hide and seek with a child came to here, it would be really nice to know if the little flashes were actual memories or just thing her mind felt compelled to make up, trying to fill in the many gaps. Deciding it was worth the try. She cleared her mind then focus on finding the fairies, she attempted to bind this thought to the wisps and was happy to see that they now seemed to form a frail. Possibly to lead them to their doom.

“I think I am as ready as I will be, the wisps will guide us to where the fairies’ are. I am not sure how much use I will be in a fight, it is not something I have had a lot of practice at” Arayna answered Hed, wanting him to be aware of her abilities. Why the fairy lord thought she would be of help still alluded her, but a deal was a deal.