It was a beautiful morning as a collection of horse-drawn carriages were riding along the roads that paved the isle of Erin. It was within one of the carriages two particular individuals were situated. One was a young teenager, easily mistaken for an elven child if not for her dragon-like eyes. Sitting opposite of her was another female, just as young in appearance, and while sharing the same elven-like ears of her companion this child had an ethereal beauty to her that felt... different.

Her emerald-green colored eyes scanned the documents she had brought along, and honestly just reading their contents was enough to make her wary to say the least: It had happened out of nowhere, several villagers of a rural settlement on the isle of Erin had suddenly entered a state of psychosis and while the local knights of Caelum had been able to safely restrain the people without any casualties, a call was send to a particular organization within Caelum to investigate the matter.

Why exactly was it this organization, and not the local branch of the Rune Knights or a similar law enforcement? Because this case was a bit more... otherworldly. You see, the reports noted that each of the victims displayed magic never seen before, magic that should had not been in their possession.

Mysterious powers that rose out from nowhere? There was no doubt in her mind about what was going on.

"It seems we are dealing with a rather curious case of Voidal Corruption." Yu muttered softly, to which the other female nodded her head in agreement. "It is not often that so many incidents happen in the same place. We should thank the knights for being wise enough to set up a quarantine."

Yu smiled briefly at these words. "Indeed, it will make it a lot easier to do our work."

A light knock came against the door of the carriage, followed by a voice calling her. "Director, we have nearly arrived at our destination. The village is already in sight."

Yu shifted closer to the entrance of the carriage, opening the curtain and smiling gratefully at the knight who had been part of the detachment escorting her and her colleagues from the clock tower.

"Thank you ser, I and my colleagues from the Clock Tower will start their work immediately."

With the carriages finally riding into the village it was to be expected that the first thing they were greet with was restlessness. Villagers had gathered in a large crowd, some were worriedly asking for what was going on, while others were protesting about not being allowed to leave the village.

It was in that moment of concern that she stepped outside the carriage at the same time an elderly man was complaining to one of the knights about not being allowed to see his son that she addressed the crowd.

"Dear people of Erin, please lend me your ear for a moment."

The crowd turned their attention toward her as she spoke.

"I understand you are all extremely uneasy and worried right now. It is an understandable emotion to experience. I have heard whispers among you that express concern that a plague has broken out and that it is the reason why you are all being detained here... But rest assured that this is not the case, nor is this blockade in any way meant to turn this village into a coffin."

She shook her head firmly.

"I am Fei Yu, Director of the Clock Tower, an organization specializing in the investigation and handling of otherworldly phenomena. To address your concerns: There have been several individuals within the village that succumbed to sudden fits of paranoia. I can understand why you are worried. These selfsame individuals might be a friend, family, or maybe even a loved one of yours. However, from our preliminary investigations, we can conclude that none of you are at risk. This 'condition' is not contagious, nay, in fact these poor souls are suffering from the backlash of what I and my colleagues have given the term: Voidal Corruption."

The crowd was clearly still uneasy at the current state of things. "but will we ever be able to live normally again?" One of the villagers asked, to which Yu smiled sympathetically in return. "Of course, that is why the Clock Tower has sent its finest. Our job is to investigate and provide proper treatment to the victims of Voidal Corruption so that you can all live normally again."

The people seemed to be calming down at last, the crowd dispersing back into their houses while one of the knights approached her. "Director Yu, I am Ogam, the one in charge of the knights dispatched to this village."

Yu nodded her head lightly in affirmation. "It is nice to meet you ser Ogam, could you please take me to the infected villagers?"

The man nodded his head lightly, guiding her down the street while Yu's smile wavered into a frown. It was unfortunate, many would likely oppose the idea of having their 'blessing' from the void become considered like a condition or a 'disease'. However, if what Talaz Lagaar had shown, then it was that the void was a power far too volatile and full of unknowns, way too dangerous for people to handle.

The current state of this village just represented that all too well. People who had succumbed to the powers of the void and were suffering as a result, yet she felt it was her duty to guide these people, to show them a light of hope. Finally they arrived at what seemed to be a large building.

"We have kept the infected villagers in this building, as requested we kept them in separate rooms and only the knights who bring them their meals have had any contact with them."

"Thank you."

Yu stated as she turned toward her colleagues. "Start by visiting the relatives of the victims. I want as much information about their recent activities and their past, especially anything associated to Talaz Lagaar should be brought to my attention right away."

The other scholars nodded their head in response as they went onto their duties. Meanwhile, Albion trailed closely behind her.

"Time to get started..."

However, at the same time she whispered these words Ogam approached her once more.

"There is just one more matter that needs your attention as well Director: You see, during the lockdown procedure there was one particular individual visiting the village. Of course, as the procedure states we have kept them here till the Clock Tower arrived, fortunately it has been without any incident but if possible could you please tend to them first?"

Yu nodded her head lightly in affirmation. "Of course, just point me in the right direction so I can discuss the matter with them."

A visitor to the village? What a peculiar situation the poor soul must had found themselves in. However, there was something about the situation that made her curious, hence she decided to search for the person herself rather than leaving the job to one of her colleagues to deal with.

Salem paced around the room in frustration. “Hello! Is anyone gonna let me out?” He would yell at the guards to get their attention. The guard doing his job would merely glance at him before looking straight. It was the audacity to ignore him that made the situation even worse. He was a strong and reliable member of Paradise Dawn for crying out loud. Yet, to the people of such a backwards place it meant practically nothing. Not even an extra slice of meat on his lunch sandwiches.

The fae took a seat with his cuffed hands and legs. Each one holding a shackle made specifically to repress his magic. At this point he could not summon more than a cup of water in an hour. It was another annoyance to add on top of his current predicament. The only thing he had going for him was that he was clean for a prisoner.

If one would look at Salem now they would see that he looked handsome. His otherworldly charm was set off by his sun kissed skin, and matching gold vest. His pants were the standard black long trousers with a clean white shirt. Salem made sure to keep clean even if he was currently detained. His overall look was good and he smelt like rain and blooming flowers. If he had a mirror he would admire how he makes even detainment look good.

Taking his time Salem considered how he got into his current predicament. Recently, he has been training like crazy. If it was not working on his spellcasting, mana control, elemental synergy, and various facets of magic. He was running guild quests, training some new members and gaining power for his own faction. Then he was even training his body more recently. Taking time out for strength, endurance, and various body training. It was enough to burn out more people. Salem was too busy for his liking. He needed time off. Rumor had it that some other Fae and Fairies were present in this country. So he decided to take a sabbatical to see if he could find some others of his race.

His first thought on the country was how clean it was. Salem could feel the vigorous elemental mana pretty much everywhere. It made him happy to think about the fact that it was highly likely that he had various spiritual relations around. So he wanted to explore the country more till he could find them. His most recent travels brought him to this village in question. A quaint place that did not seem like it had a lot going on as far as he could tell. Some of the people looked weird but he chalked that up to them being human. Weird was subjective for their kind. His thinking about the weirdness that he felt when he got to the town.

----

A few days ago when he arrived. Salem managed to find an inn after searching for less than three minutes. “Hello~ Is there an innkeeper here?” Salem asked in a singsong way. His staff was on his back at the time, and a lilt of joy in his voice that spoke with an accent. He was only a technical beginner at Caelish.

“Yes. Welcome to the Sunny days inn. How can I help ya?” The hostess spoke to him with a return smile. She was an average size woman that spoke very quickly.The smile wavered as it took Salem a moment to answer.

Salem had a tough time trying to speak the language for a moment. Not everyone here spoke Fiorian so trying to speak their language was a bit of an issue. If he did not have experience with translating and a large mental capacity, who could guess if he “Yes. I would like a room for one. One with your best bed if possible. Bonus if you could tell me where the closest bar is.” Salem spoke with his sweet mannerisms and the sweet smile of his.

The hostess seemed to have fallen for it. “Yes. We have a lovely room . Normally the price is 180 Jewels a night but I can give it to you for 100.” Salem agreed and that was how he found a place to stay in the town.

Being honest he should have left that first night when he stayed in the room. Salem remembers waking up in a cold sweat. He grabbed his staff and there was a chill in the air that touched him the wrong way. Salem felt the staff in his hand grow warm. It was as if the stick was reacting to something. The feeling did not last and it quickly passed. Salem only barely managed to make it back to sleep. The greatly disturbing feeling being eased but not completely gone.

When he woke up the next day some screams could be heard. He got up and pretty much leaped out the window. The height was not injury worthy and he could have flown if he wanted to. What greeted him was the sight of a man going berserk. Salem turned around to walk back inside the building. He did not know the situation and it was none of his business. He had no reason to intervene in what was going on.

It was then the hostess came out of her hotel to see what was going on. She put her hands to her mouth in fear. “Another one. This time it is Cristobal. Is no one here safe?” She spoke through her hands with panic as obvious as a seizure victim on a dancefloor.

Salem was gonna ignore it when that feeling of wrongness came back. The feeling was coming from the man that they were taking down, as well as the hostess that was in front of him. It radiated off her in waves before it looked like she fainted. “Get away from her! It is happening to her too!” That was as much of a warning that Salem got. The lady got up with the same crazed look in her eyes. Salem could swear he could feel a certain something resonating from his staff. Feeling it he recognized it as magical synergy. Something from her and the man was setting his staff off.

Dodging an attack from the sudden mad woman. Salem had explored that feeling back then. He followed it till he was able to reach a certain level of understanding in his magic. He poured his mana into the staff to use it as a conduit. It fought against the madwoman repressing the waves coming off her. She slowed down till she passed out. He had single handedly repressed her.

Salem was proud of himself. The villagers thanked him for taking her out without harm. They invited him to the tavern for a free round. How was he supposed to know it was a trap? The mugs were spiked. The potion made him pass out and repressed his magical ability. On top of that they took his staff when he passed out.

-----

That brought Salem back to the present. They had locked him away because apparently the lady had a reaction to his powers. She woke up unmaddened for a few hours. Then whatever it was that happened came back. Salem was locked up because he was viewed as a possible solution. It was not for the townspeople to decide so he had to wait for someone with more sway. That person could decide what to do with him in a sense.

Salem was not fully aware of what was going on outside. He could not see past the confines of his very lavish prison cell. He could however hear to an extent. The voices that were carried in the wind gave the place some excitement. Whoever it was that was supposed to come and deal with the problem had arrived. It would only be a matter of hours or minutes at the most till he could get released.

While he waited Salem could make out bits and pieces of a speech. Someone was being very motivational. If he was not being detained at the moment, he may have even cared. He was happy when he heard the applause. It meant that whoever was coming to release him should not be too far away. That was assuming the guards told them of his presence. He really just wished he knew what was going on. The people would not tell him. He had simply been eating and resting here since they kept him with the fancy jewelry that kept him from properly casting. If not he would have escaped and taken the place off the map for good measure.

“Lonely~~~~~ Locked up and lonely~~~ these people imprisoned me~~~ I am going insane~~~” Salem was so bored he merely started to sing to pass the time. It was pure luck and fae power that he was not a terrible singer. If he took vocal lessons he could have even tried becoming an idol. Too bad it was not his thing and he was simply doing it to pass them time.

Salem could hear the guards greeting someone. He perked up at the thought that it would be the time for his release. He wanted to see the person who had enough sway to get him locked up till they arrived. Salem imagined a large general with enough muscles to strangle a small calf. Even better if it was a hot werebear or something. It would be the best for his mood if he at least got to see some eye candy out of all that was happening.

TWC: 1611

Fortunately it seemed Salem wouldn't have to wait much longer to find out who the individual was holding enough sway to see him captive, yet unfortunately for him it was no hot werebear or a cool-looking tall general from some sort of comic book. No, instead the captain of the guard was seen entering the corridor containing Salem's 'cell', and soon unlocked the door as he stepped inside.

"This is the person in question Director."

The Captain stated as he took a step aside to reveal the person that Salem had been waiting for. Not even reaching past his torso in height the small female could easily have been mistaken for a child, yet the pointed ears would have swayed that opinion closer to that of an elven child, if not for a certain ethereal charm to her. The emerald-green colored eyes of the lass gazed calmly at the man, and for some odd reason it might have felt like she was peering straight into his soul.

"I see, please go and collect his belongings."

As she spoke she lightly waved a hand at the spot the jewelry was attached to the man's body, and a sudden pulse of mana caused the jewelry to lose its powers, allowing the stranger to regain control over his powers.

"I understand, I will return momentarily."

The Captain spoke as he left the cell, leaving the two of them alone for the time being, if one didn't include the disguised dragon who was leaning against the wall outside the room. "Please forgive the inhospitable treatment you have received so far ser."

The child spoke, using what seemed to be Caelish although there was something ancient about her dialect, ancient and playful, somewhat familiar to the Fae perhaps? "As unpleasant as it might be, detaining anyone till an examination can take place is standard procedure when it involves an outbreak of Voidal Corruption."

She paused for a moment, a twinkle of curiosity in her eyes as she looked closer at the stranger. "Although I do hope your singing earlier wasn't a sign you were going insane~ Then again: boredom can have quite an effect on the mind."

Folding her arms underneath her chest she watched the Captain return with the man's belongings, yet as he handed over the staff Yu couldn't help but find her gaze sharpen slightly. "Hmm, that staff, I guess that is why they detained you, and yet unlike the others you have yet to show the same symptoms of delirium that the other victims did."

Pondering for a moment she soon smiled at Salem. "But perhaps I should start at the beginning~ I am Yu, Yu of the Fae, and I currently am the Director of the Clock Tower Organization. We have come here to investigate an outbreak of Voidal Corruption, or in simple terms: People who have had contact with the void and became affected by its altering powers. And who would you be?"

The disappointment Salem was feeling was immense. He had thought the decent looking fellow that opened the door to his prison was the one in charge. A beefcake was always a welcomed view. What greeted him instead was a child he almost looked over. He did not even have the small one on his radar.

The words that came out of the short stacks mouth took him for a loop. The tiny one admitted to being Fae. It was shocking to finally be able to find one of his people. It was odd that he was more inclined to believe she was Fae because she was more petite. Buff Fae was more of a myth than a real thing he was aware of. Even the Stalwart earth types were more built than actually bulky.

“Pleasure to meet you short sta-.” Salem coughed abruptly, and switched from Caelish to Fae. It was easier for him to speak. "I mean it is a pleasure to meet another member of the Fae. My name is Salem. I came exploring this quaint place. I never expected to be met with such a reception. I do freelance work as a healer. Besides, I spent decades in one place. A few days in a cell would not drive me crazy.”

Salem put on his gear and got ready in front of the others. It was really just the vest, crown, and his staff. Not like they stripped him of his pants. Even if they did he would not have cared about them missing either.

“Anyway. Your village has nothing to do with me. Besides the fact that the people are not as hospitable as they should be. Tying people up with ropes and not even giving a safe word. Such savagery. Well I don’t mind helping out family though. If you need some assistance I would not mind. I just hope whatever it is can be fun.”

The Fairy Godfather gave a smile showing his pearly white teeth. He stood taller with his gear and was looking at his new compatriot as a child with a fun toy.

WC:352 TWC: 1,963

Yu couldn't help but tilt her head slightly to the side in bewilderment as she heard Salem's sudden switch from Caelish to Fae and soon grinned mischievously at him. "Well sorry for being short, when one is turned into a Fairy at such a young age it does not help in terms of the growth temperament. Perhaps to make up for it I'll introduce you to some handsome fella? I think Blue Pegasus has their share of these." A wink followed as she shifted her usage of Caelish toward the language spoken by the Fae, although hers had clearly an Erin accent to it.

"Ah~ This isn't my village." A light shake of her head followed as she watched Salem finish getting dressed and then offered to guide him along, hoping to leave the small room. "My organization tends to be in charge of an advisory role when it comes to dealing with all matters involving the void. I guess it can be equally fun as it can be dangerous."

The last part came with a soft hum while the disguised Albion followed after the duo. "But this one is a bit of an odd case. You see, usually when someone can't control the powers of the void they start to suffer from what we call 'Voidal Corruption', makes you enter a state of hysteria, but so far beyond having your staff here the only cues we have currently are the reports that suggest each victim had been to Talaz Lagaar shortly before the island went kaboom."

Heaving a sigh she brought a hand to her cheek and pondered for a bit. "Then again, if you're willing to assist I would appreciate it a lot. My colleagues are currently working to get a reading of the mana waves in this village, but they have yet to catch anything more than residual void essence. At least we can rule out the probability of a Void Rift from appearing here."

She turned toward Salem, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "That reminds me~ Although I heard you speak in the language of the Fae just now, there is something different about you... At least I don't think I seen you in Avalon before. Nay, Titania or Oberon would have mentioned if someone with a void relic was there."

A light shake of her head followed as she added. "Please don't take this as an interrogation Salem~ I am still a newly awakened Fairy, and it is rare for me to meet one of my kin outside the sanctuaries we dwell in. If anything beyond the few that work at the Clock Tower you'd be hard-pressed to find most of us due to the expansion of the human settlements."

Upon hearing these words Albion chimed softly. "The capital of the humans, despite sharing the sacred name of our sanctuary does upset the balance, most would hesitate to thread on impure soil like that. Consider it like asking someone to stay in the sewers."

Albion's words earned a chuckle from the fairy. "Harsh but it is an understandable perspective. This is Albion by the way, she is my closest confidant and while she might not look like it, she is the Aspect of an Ancient Fae Dragon."