Blood dripped from sharpened blades and sweat from men's brows, the pungent odors blending to create a stench that Adiel knew she would not soon forget. Clasping a hand over her mouth and clenching her eyes, the young faerie tried to block out the scene playing out all around her, but still the images lingered behind her closed lids.

"Drive them back!" The strained voice of Alros, the human leader, rose above the din, causing Adiel's eyes to snap open and seek him out from where she hovered above the throng. "Don't let them reach the tree!" With a mighty swing, he brought his blade over the shoulder of the man before him, and Adiel cringed at the sound of cracking bone that followed. She'd witnessed several die at his hands in this fight, but it didn't seem to make the killing any easier for him. His eyes darkened momentarily with remorse before he quickly wiped the blood splatter from his face and regrouped his men into a tighter circle around the great tree.

Amongst the clashing of blades and cries of pain, the men's grunts were the only answer to their leaders words. They had been at this since the early hours of morning, and the toll was becoming evident. Swords slipped from weakened grasps, and the men's movements grew more sluggish as they struggled to swing the heavy blades. Adiel feared they would soon be overcome. With the shouted words from their commander, however, they clenched their jaws and rallied the strength to press harder against the onslaught.

They must keep going, she thought anxiously. Our lives depend on it, for if the traitors reach the Mother Tree, my people and I are all doomed!

While she watched, the men defending her home stumbled over the Mother Tree's great roots and the broken bodies of their comrades. They could not stop to tend to their wounded friends and fellow soldiers.

But maybe they do not have to face their enemies alone...

Her large, oval eyes lit with the spark of an idea and her veins hummed with adrenaline as she realized what she could do to help. Deciding to act before she could change her mind, Adiel stilled her fluttering wings and dove through the air. The ground rose up swiftly to meet her, but she didn't slow until the last moment. Then, spreading her translucent wings wide, she halted her freefall and gently lowered herself to one of the injured men.

He sat within the protective circle of his fellow warriors with a face contorted in pain as he clutched a severe gash beneath his right arm. Pink, frothy blood bubbled between his fingers, and each shallow breath rattled within his chest. When the rapid beating of Adiel's wings attracted his attention, he glanced up to see her hesitating before his face. "What are you doing down here? It isn't safe. Go back to the tree with the others."

The faerie shook her head firmly. "You're wounded, and I can help."
A spark of hope ignited in his eyes, and the man hesitated no longer. Removing his hand from the gash, he allowed the faerie access. "Will it hurt-"

She answered his question before he could even finish forming it. Just as soon as her pale hands made contact with his skin, she unleashed a cooling numbness that washed over the area like the refreshing waters of a mountain stream. The sigh that escaped his lips revealed the extent of his relief.

With the pain now gone, the man allowed his taught muscles to relax as he reclined against the base of the great tree, and Adiel was better able to minister to his wound. The gentle probing of her magic delved deeper into the gash to find his lung had been punctured and was filling up with blood. Furrowing her brow, she acted quickly to knit the flesh back together from the inside out, sealing up tissue and reconnecting blood vessels as she went. The task didn't take long and by the time she had finished, not even a scar could be seen.

"Not bad," the man commented as he examined his newly healed flesh. "Any chance you could use that magic to help us end this foolishness?"

A look of horror sprang up in Adiel's cerulean eyes, and she immediately pulled back from him. "We can not! It is not allowed to bring harm to any creature, human or otherwise. That is our highest law."

"Yes, I know. It is a noble law for a noble race." He sighed while struggling back to his feet. "I'm just getting desperate, I suppose. I don't think we can hold them off much long-"

His words were interrupted by a sudden flash of steel as an adversary broke through the protective circle of the other warriors and swung at his head. The newly healed warrior managed to duck left in time so that the blade merely grazed his shoulder.

A fresh stripe of blood began to form in the shallow cut, but before it had a chance to flow freely down his arm, Adiel sealed the wound with a touch of her magic.

"Thanks," he called over his shoulder before bringing his sword up to block another attack. His blade locked with the other's, and in that moment, their gazes met. "No..."

Adiel's heart sank as she watched the warrior's eyes grow wide in recognition.

His attacker flashed a humorless smile before snarling at the faerie with him in disdain, "Hello Matthias. I see you've turned against us as well."

"I have turned against no one, Jerall. It is you and the others who are the betrayers."

Jerall snorted as he jerked his sword free, drew back, and thrust it forward again. Matthias stepped to the right and brought his sword down in an arc to deflect the attack off to his left.

"You're a liar!" Jerall raged as he continued his thrusting and swinging. "You all have turned against your own kind, and in favor of what? Dragonflies with magic! They can't be trusted, Matthias. They are secretive and conniving. They whisper amongst themselves as they watch us from their precious tree. How can you so easily abandon the safety of our village and our people by continuing to live next to these insects?"

Throughout the rampage, Matthias simply dodged and blocked the wild swings while Adiel hovered overhead. Her elongated ears grew red at every hateful word spoken and her fists shook with indignation, but she was at a loss for how to respond. As the venom and anger grew with each sentence spoken, however, Matthias's eyes flashed with fury. With a swift kick to the gut, he knocked Jerall to the ground.

"Enough! These people, these insects as you call them, have done nothing to earn our distrust or our hatred.

"We came to this place seeking a land where we could prosper and farm and live in peace. The faeries agreed to grant us that desire with the understanding that neither party would interfere with the other. That agreement has been kept until you and the others rose up against them. How can you believe that they are evil? They are no more harmful than butterflies. You speak only out of fear. You and those like you have allowed fear to spread in your hearts until it has removed the truth entirely from your judgment."

"They must be destroyed. We won't be safe from them or their vile magic until they have been exterminated." Jerall pushed himself up off the ground with a look of cold resolve that forced Matthias back a step. "And if you continue to prevent me from doing just that, I will be forced to eliminate you as well."

"Jerall, listen to yourself. We used to be like brothers. Don't let your fear of their magic do this to you."
He only wiped the sweat and dirt from his brow before once again raising his weapon to Matthias's heart. "I've made my decision. I am sorry to say that you have made the wrong one."
Matthias tightened his lip into a thin line as Jerall rushed at him with all of his might. Shifting his stance, Matthias prepared to spin out of the way, but his foot caught on the tangled roots of the tree and he fell.

"No!" Adiel screamed.

Time seemed to slow as she watched Matthias collide with the hard ground. Air left his lungs in a whoosh, and Jerall was nearly upon him. But at the very last isntant, Matthias lifted the tip of his sword. The momentum of Jerall's own attack drove him to the hilt of the sharp weapon. With one last look of surprise, he sagged and fell to the ground beside his former friend.

Scrambling to his feet, Matthias pulled his blade free. Pity and remorse lingered his eyes as he looked away.

"I'm sorry, Matthias," was all Adiel could think to say.

Shaking his head, Matthias shrugged off her words, "It was he who made the wrong decision. He brought this upon himself." With those final words, he turned his back on his former friend and joined his comrades still struggling to hold the line.

Adiel was left shaken. Her gaze strayed to the fallen man before her, and fluttering closer, she paused a moment to take in his unseeing eyes as they stared up at the sky. Then, one by one, she reverently lowered his lids and wept.

~~*~~

On the other side of the circle, Alros, the leader of the defenders, found himself face to face with his nephew and leader of the rebels, Demitrus. It was he, Alros' own flesh and blood, who had fanned the sparks of dissention into the rebellious blaze it was today; thus, the knife of betrayal been driven all the more deeply, piercing the older man to the core. They regarded each other only briefly before clashing fiercely with blood dripping from their swords and sweat running down their backs. Few words passed between them, for all that could be said was argued long before their difference of opinion brought them to civil war.

With a mighty thrust, Demitrus aimed his weapon at Alros's lower abdomen. Using the small shield in his left hand to divert the blow to the right, Alros spun on the balls of his feet and brought his blade around at his foe. Demitrus quickly adjusted his stance and brought his sword up to block it. Narrowing his eyes, Alros pulled back and drove his blade in at his chest. The younger man narrowly evaded the attack by stepping right and angling his shoulders to the side so that the edge of the blade merely grazed the front of his leather tunic.

Wasting no time, Demitrus twisted his blade up in an arc toward the neck. Alros ducked quickly and kicked out the other's knee causing him to tumble backward. Rising as rapidly as his tired limbs would allow, he stepped to the fallen Demitrus and brought the point of his sword to rest on the hollow of his throat. All movements immediately ceased.

"It is over, Demitrus. Your uprising has failed."

The captured man shifted his eyes from side to side as the nearest combatants saw what had happened and began to stand down. Shouts rippled outward calling the others to stop fighting. Within a matter of moments, all sounds of battle had quieted. The faeries gathered near and all eyes turned to Alros.

Keeping his attention on his downed opponent, he raised his voice to be heard by all, "Never should our differences have brought us to this point. We are brothers, every one of us. We have struggled through many hardships. Our fathers brought us here seeking refuge from the famine and disease that plagued our former home. Where others gave themselves up to die from those circumstances, our people came together and sought out a new land where we could thrive. For fifty years we wandered, depending on each other for survival, and look where that has brought us."

He shifted his gaze to those gathered around him before turning his attention back to Demitrus. "We have forgotten who we are. Some of you have too easily allowed fear and suspicion to enter your hearts and cloud your minds, causing you to turn against the very ones you used to call friends. Such a breach of trust cannot be simply forgiven. You have not only broken faith with the gentle faeries, but you have also broken faith with your kindred.

"We cannot deceive ourselves in believing that these events will be forgotten or that our friendships will be healed in time. You have chosen to live apart from us and apart from that which is right. So it is by your own actions that I judge you. As leader of our people, I hereby banish all of the rebels to the Barrens. Each may take his family and whatever possessions he can carry through the pass in the mountains. Once all are through, the pass will be sealed. Any who refuse will forfeit their life and that of their family. See that it is done immediately."

With those final words, Alros stepped back from Demitrus, allowing two men to grab him and haul him away. As other men herded the banished down the hill, he turned to the faeries and their Mother Tree with a weariness that went beyond simple age but stemmed from a broken heart. "I am sorry to have brought so much conflict and bloodshed to your people. I will understand if you have changed your minds about allowing us to live in your lands."

The king and queen of the faeries exchanged a look before flying closer to the humble leader. Setting down on the ground in front of him, the two faeries began to shimmer at first then glow as they grew in size until they reached that of a normal human. Despite their size, however, they could still be easily distinguished as faeries by their slightly pointed ears and translucent wings. Their unexpected change in appearance caused the battered man to step back in surprise and astonishment.

"My dear man," the queen began after their transformation was complete, "we could never turn away such individuals so moved to protect the innocent as to risk their own lives and the lives of their families."

"Indeed," the king continued for her, "you have proven yourselves more than deserving of our gratitude and our trust. A bond has been formed this day between your people and ours. From this day forward, our peoples will be forever connected. In honor of that and to show our gratitude, we would like to present you with a gift."

Alros's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "A gift?"

"Yes. We would like to bestow upon you the gift of magic. Of course, it would be slightly different than our own. For those who fought with the most bravery and showed the most loyalty here today, we will bestow upon them the magic which will allow them to communicate as well as merge with animals, temporarily transferring the animal's specific traits to that person. With this gift, they and their descendants will continue what was begun here today by forever serving as Warriors and protectors of this land and its inhabitants.

"In addition to this, another magic will be given-that of the Common. All who are bestowed with this gift will be blessed in whatever they put their hands to, whether farming, trading, metalworking, or any other occupation. From this group, we will select one who is pure in heart to act as liaison between you, the humans, and us. This will be repeated every generation, thus ensuring that they will not feel less important than those blessed with the other two magics." Smiling and crossing his arms in satisfaction, the faerie king waited to see how the human leader would respond.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Alros interjected with brow wrinkled in confusion. "You said 'the other two magics' but you have not listed the last."

"Have I not?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Well then, let me do so now. The last gift will be that of the Royal magic-the ability to see into a person and determine their true emotions, desires, and motives as well as the ability to heal most wounds and illnesses. Also, one similarity between the Royal magic and that of the Warrior will be that both will be given the ability to manipulate the basic elements of fire, water, wind, and earth."

After staring with eyes wide and mouth agape for several seconds, Alros finally regained his voice and knelt before them. "We would be honored beyond words to receive such a gift. However, one question begs to be asked: Who are the Royals? We are only a small village. We have no king or queen of our own, only elders."

A slow smile spread across the faerie queen's face. "Through your admirable display of leadership, you have nominated yourself for the position. From this moment on, you will be known as King Alros. Your wife will be your queen and your children will be your heirs."

The faerie king nodded in agreement. "Now, go. We have much to prepare. Have all of the villagers gather here at dawn tomorrow so we may pass our gifts to them."

Shakily rising to his feet, Alros gave a quick nod. "I will see to it at once." With a bow, he then turned away, barely noticing where his feet took him as his thoughts swirled with this news. Bits and pieces of the faeries' words drifted through his mind as he mumbled to himself in stunned disbelief, "King Alros...?"