Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 2: 2. Born From Death

Read chapter 2 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

2. Born From Death I am Willow, a fae spirit born of nature. I have walked this world for 5092 human years. To me, a human life is a passing moment, their actions no more consequential than the labor of ants. I have seen countless kingdoms rise and fall, endless wars, and many "gods" created and slain. For those that live for eons, everything feels temporary and fickle. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/e36e5201-b5f5-4e9c-bdf0-03b5ea1f4af9 The fae like myself have been both worshiped and feared throughout the ages. Some pray to us because we can perform miracles beyond human understanding. We have been feared because those miracles always come at a cost. If you ask something of the fae you make a binding pact and must offer something of equal value. They call the fae tricksters because many mortals fail to specify clearly what they are asking for or what they are offering in return. It's true, we are known for being creative with vague contracts. Sure, many mortals have been less than satisfied with the outcomes, but it's their fault for leaving the terms open to interpretation. For instance, there was once a man consumed by unrequited love. Desperate, he begged me to make the woman of his obsession love him in return. "I would give anything," he said. So, I took his overwhelming love and transferred it to her. She fell madly in love with him, exactly as he wished. But once freed of his obsession, he no longer felt the same and soon found love elsewhere. Her love, however, had grown into madness. In the end, her jealousy consumed her. She killed him, his new love, and finally, herself. Love is a foolish mortal concept. A great many senseless things have been done in the name of love. There was also a time when a grieving elvish mother begged me to bring her deceased son back to life. In her desperation, she offered the life of an orphaned child as payment, willing to sacrifice another's life to restore her son's. Ordinarily, I might have agreed; a life for a life is fair compensation. But that life was not hers to give. After she had slain the orphan, I did return her son to her, but not as the living boy she remembered. I brought him back as an undead. In the end, the woman and her family met their end at the hands of the very child she had resurrected, now a twisted shadow of his former self. Not only should your contracts with the fae be specific, but you should only offer what is yours to give. I once met a beastkin farmer who asked for my blessing on his harvest. In return, he offered one teacup of his blood. He was wise enough to specify the exact amount I could take, but he neglected to define the nature of the blessing he sought. So, I blessed his crops with supernatural growth. The results were extraordinary: the fields erupted with oversized crops, growing at an unstoppable pace. But the sheer scale of that growth obliterated his home and farmland, leaving him with nothing. Ironically, the food harvested from his monstrous crops brought prosperity to the village. A shame the farmer himself didn’t live to reap the rewards. The fae are not good or evil, we are indifferent. Your concept of morality is a human construct, not relatable to the fae. How should the wolf respond when a rabbit calls it evil for being his prey? Should the wolf cease to hunt simply because the rabbit deems it unjust? To call us evil is to misunderstand us entirely, just as the rabbit misunderstands the wolf. We are not motivated by hate, fear, love, or any emotion. We are driven solely by the need to survive, like any other creature. The fae sustain themselves on the life force we take from mortals through the contracts we make. These contracts are essential to our existence. The life force we consume extends our lives, and we must fulfill the terms of these contracts or we perish. We are drawn to desperate people with strong desires. The deep longing in their hearts is a sweet aroma that calls to us. Such was the case w