Fairy Opera Chapter 1: Beginnings

 

Beginnings

“Hey, Rock! What are you doing? Shoot down that skyfish!”

I pulled up on my harpoon gun. “Sorry, boss!” I fired the steel-tipped harpoon, landing a straight hit on the large glam-glam right in its stomach. Blood sprayed everywhere.

The glam-glam was a gigantic fish the size of a horse, though among skyfish it was actually on the smaller end. Its scales shined with an iridescent color, catching the light of the sun and reflecting it through the sky. The glam-glam had a bony crest above its shoulders and four fins on each side.

“Pull! Hard to port!” Captain Nire Belfellow turned the ship’s wheel. Our sails caught the wind and our sky ship tilted against the horizon and dragged the glam-glam towards our hull. Two sailors with long claws on sticks leaned over the railings. Wood creaked. I braced myself against the bracing rope that hung from the harpoon system.

We reeled the glam-glam in and the sailors with hooks caught the fish, bringing it onto the deck. Once it was there, several sailors knocked it out with sticks and started the dressing-down process. The ship righted itself.

I wiped sweat from my forehead.

Tae slapped me on the back. “Good shot, Rock!” She hooked her elbow around my neck. “You landed a nice fish. Nice going for a rookie.”

Tae had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and blue eyes. She wore an oilskin coat that was covered in years-worth of stains. Her face had freckles and her arms were rather skinny for a sailor. She dragged me to the other side of the sky ship. “Here, have a drink.”

I drank. “Hey, this is water.”

“What were you expecting? We’re at work right now, we can’t be drunk. Get hydrated and be happy about it. We’ve got two more fish to spear today to meet our quota.”

The day lingered on. We caught three more skyfish, which made Captain Nire very happy. When we pulled into port that evening there seemed to be something wrong with the town. Everyone was gathered around the notice board.

Tae and I got off the ship and ran over to where the crowd was. We pushed our way towards the front and read what was on the board.

“Aw, no.” Tae sighed. “Looks like some rebels are being executed today.”

“Do you want to go see it?” I looked at Tae.

Tae shook her head. “No. I hate things like this. I’m not one to speak of my views on the Empire and the rebels, but I’m not happy with this.”

“Okay.” I really didn’t have anything else to say. I really did not know much about anything outside of the town of Bearskin. I had lived here all my life and I had only seen people from outside town a couple of times. I was taught how to read by my mother, but books on the outside world were very hard to come by.

Tae and I walked to the market, where we bought some croquettes from the butcher and ate them as we walked. Tae took a bite. “I’m not sure who to believe about the rebels. I think they may actually have a point.”

“If you say those kinds of things, then you’ll be arrested.” I looked around us nervously. “Okay. No one heard you.”

“I know there’s no one around here, Rock. Everyone’s at the execution. I’m not stupid.” Tae finished her croquette. “But yeah. I probably shouldn’t be saying things like that.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Tae stopped walking. “Do you hear something?” She turned and looked at a small crate on the ground.

I looked at the crate as well. There was a small cat inside of it. The cat looked at me and meowed. I picked it up and turned to Tae. “It looks like a baby.”

“I’m sorry, my landlord doesn’t allow pets.” Tae sighed. “But we need to find it a home.”

“I’ll keep it.” I held the cat to my chest. “I think it’s cute.”

Tae chuckled. “Then you keep it. I don’t think your uncle will mind you having it around. He’s always been good with animals.”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I slipped the cat into the pocket on my coat. We walked until it was time for us to split. Tae lifted her chin. “I’ll see you at the docks tomorrow. We have more fish to gut.”

I waved and turned away. After walking down a few streets, the cat in my pocket jumped out. I chased after it, entering into an alleyway, ending up at a dead end. The cat was sitting on top of a cloth sack that was part of a pile of trash. I tried picking up the cat but it hid behind the bag.

I lifted up the bag. It was a lot heavier than I expected, so I fell backwards. The bag split on the ground and something tumbled out. It was a wooden box. I opened the box and a sparkling light flitted out, flying around me and entering my body through my chest. My skin began to glow. My entire being felt like it was on fire. I let out a wordless scream, as the entirety of reality flowed past me, and then I lost consciousness.

I woke up to the cat pawing at my chin. I lifted up my head and felt a pounding headache.

A man wearing a long cloak was sitting next to my bed. I turned to him. “Who are you? Where am I?”

The man leaned close to me. “You woke the fairy.”

“The what?”

“That light that enveloped you. What did you see? Why did you survive?”

“Tell me who you are first.”

“My name is Orion. But that is of no matter right now. What matters is that you have received the Mark.”

“Mark?” I held up my hand. On the back of my right hand was a mark that was formed from five triangles and had an inscription in some strange, alien language. “What is this?”

“It’s the Mark of the Mage.” Orion handed me a glove. “When you leave, wear this.”

“What is it? Why is it on my hand?”

“You don’t need to know. You just need to keep it secret from everyone. Do not let anyone, even your closest friends, from finding the mark. Keep this glove on you at all times.”

“Who are you?”

Orion shook his head. “You don’t need to know that. All you need to know is that, if you play your cards right, you’ll be fine.”

“Okay. What time is it?”

“You’ve only been asleep for half an hour.” He paused. “Oh, and if a small fairy being approaches you at any point, ignore it. It can only lead to trouble.”

I got out of the cot, swaying for a few moments before catching my balance. “Ugh.” I left the house and walked onto the street.

The cat poked its head out of my jacket lapel. “Meow?”

“Hey. I’ll call you Johnathan. Hi Johnathan.”

“Meow?” Johnathan tilted his small head.

I patted him. “You’re going to be great with me.” I walked the rest of the way home. The sound of my uncle working resonated from all the way down the street. He was a blacksmith and I lived with him, above the workshop.

When I got near enough to feel the heat, my uncle saw me and pulled cotton from his ear. “Hey, Rock.”

“Uncle Jak.”

“Eh. You catch any good fish today?”

“I did. Yeah.”

My little sister Ami came down the stairs. “Dinner is ready, Rock. You’re a bit late today.”

“I, ah, I found a cat.” I pulled Jonathan from my coat. “His name is Johnathan.”

“Meow.” Johnathan leaped from my arms and ran rings around Ami’s feet.

Ami was only a year younger than I was, though she was a lot shorter. She had short brown hair and was wearing a basic spun dress. “Well, it’s time for you guys to get some food. Come up when you’re ready.”

I nodded and followed Ami up to the dining room above the shop. It was small, with a table that could fit four, even though there were only three of us. Jak came up the stairs and sat down.

“What are we having tonight?”

“Bread soup.” Ami brought out a pot full of bread soup.

“Good stuff.” Jak ladled the soup into a bowl and started eating.

“Are you ever tired of this?” I looked at the soup as Ami ladled it into my bowl. “I mean, doing all this. Working so that we can eat this soup every day.”

Jak pointed his spoon at me. “Be grateful for what you have, Rock. There are people in this town who don’t have anything to eat. As long as we can have our bellies full, we’ll be fine. Don’t ask too many questions.”

“Have you ever wanted to see the world?”

Jak grimaced. “I saw the world plenty when I was in the army. I don’t miss it.”

Ami looked between Jak and I. “Sorry if the food isn’t up to your expectations.”

“No, it’s good. It’s great, actually. I was just wishing that something would change.”

Ami looked pensive. “Maybe it will, Rock. We don’t know what will happen in the future.”

After dinner I went to my room, which was a small alcove behind the chimney that vented the forge. The place was always warm, which was good in the winter and bad in the summer. Right now, it being spring, I enjoyed the warmth from the chimney. I lay down on my bed and tried to go to sleep.

A bright light woke me. I lifted my head and saw a blue orb floating in front of me.

Eldritch abominations of grotesque immensity flickered in my mind. A million years of black, slithering tentacles showed themselves to me, as I fell through a hole of darkness and mud. Then I snapped back to reality. A small fairy floated in the middle of the blue orb.

It spoke in an ancient, inscrutable words that wriggled through my mind. Then it switched to common.

“Hello. Rock.”

I threw up. “Ugh.”

The fairy flew up to my nose. “You’ve been chosen, child.”

I shook my head. “Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you so small?” I remembered Orion’s words.

“Hah. I’ll tell you everything eventually. I’m Ruby. Your liaison.”

“Liaison to who?”

“I believe you saw them.”

The memories of that infinite, grotesque blackness flashed by. “Oh. God, who were they?”

“The immortals. The beings of law, order, chaos, and destruction. They live in the fabric of reality and their egg is your universe.”

I got up and tried to clean my blanket of my vomit. I took the jug of water I kept on my counter and did my best to wash the fabric.

“Where did you come from?”

“I was spawned by your connection with the old ones. It is my job to give you your quest.”

“Quest? I don’t want a quest. I want a normal life where I’m not being inhabited by those, those things.”

Ruby flitted over to where I stood. “You don’t have a choice in this matter. You woke the beast. Now you have to live with it.”

I grimaced. “So what? Do I go on an adventure or something? Do I gather a party and head into the unknown?”

“Yep. Glad to see you understand.” Ruby flew under my nose and pointed her tiny hand at me. “So do it. Gather a group and hire a ship. We’ve got an adventure to go on.”

I wrinkled my nose. “This is a bit sudden. Let me talk to someone about this.”

“No. Don’t tell your family. It will put them in danger.” Ruby landed on my shoulder.

“Then who do I call?”

“People you trust, and who are willing to put themselves in danger.”

I looked out the window, at the moon. “Let me think about it. This is all very sudden.”

Ruby’s wings fluttered. “Hah. You’re taking this better than I expected.”

I sat down on my bed. “Sure. Let me go back to sleep and I’ll handle this in the morning.” I lay down under my still-wet blanket and did my best to go to sleep.

I hoped that this would turn out to be a dream in the morning.