Wild Wardens

Zane Joly

          A breeze came in from the sea, blowing through the trees. It carried the scent of people. Seda wrinkled her nose. It was time to get to work. She jumped down from the tree branch she had been sitting on and landed lightly on the earth a few dozen feet below. She set off at a brisk pace, weaving through the trees, her feet effortlessly navigating among the roots and stones.

Seda moved faster through the forest than any ordinary person would be able to. Things like distance and space had always been of limited concern to her. While within the forest, she moved as she wished. The forest did not belong to Seda, she belonged to it.

The woman broke from the treeline and came to a stop at the shore. On the forested isle the transition from sea to woodland was fairly sharp, with only a couple dozen feet of sand separating the deep shadows of the forest’s massive trees and the sunlight glimmering on ocean water. Seda had heard countless names others had made for her island, but she had failed to see the purpose of naming it. No one was going to confuse it with a different large island completely covered by an ancient and powerful forest. For one thing, the only other island forests of similar age and size had been settled on by mortals.

Seda stood on the sand and waited. A dark spot on the water was getting larger. Another breeze came by and Seda inhaled deeply. The scent was stronger now. A ship with mortals on it. Like most coming to the island, they were ska’ols, not humans. She also smelled smoke, but the ship didn’t seem to be burning. Ah, it was one of those new ones fueled by steam instead of wind.

The ship continued to approach. A woman on board pointed towards the shore. “There’s someone on the shore, waiting for us.” Several others on the ship looked to where she was pointing and saw her as well. More details of the shore figure became clear as they approached. She was a human woman with dark golden skin and short black hair. She wore a brown dress that reached halfway down her shins and she appeared to be barefoot.

The ship came up to the shore and stopped, dropping its anchor. Seda observed the ship and its passengers closely. The vessel was fairly small for a steamship, and Seda guessed there were a few dozen onboard it at most. The passengers started climbing over the sides and wading through the surf towards her.

Ska’ols were a widespread and varied species. These ones seemed relatively average for this area of the seas. Most of them were a little taller than an ordinary human, and there was less of a height difference between males and females. Their nails were sharp like claws and large patches of their skin were scaly. Some had tails, reptilian eyes, or simple holes in place of ears or noses. Their skin and scales came in a range of colors, mostly reds, purples, and blues.

One of the newcomers walked up to Seda. “Hello,” he said, “I am Tasonn. You are?”

“Seda,” the woman answered.

“How many others are here on the island?” Tasonn asked.

“Other what?” asked Seda.

There was a pause and the ska’ol’s reptilian eyes glanced around, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Other people,” he clarified.

“None,” said Seda.

Tasonn seemed surprised by this. “You live here alone?”

“I am not alone,” said Seda, “I just do not keep people for company.”

“Ah,” said the ska’ol, “Well, I hope you don’t mind if we stay here for a while, we’re not really sure how long.”

“Alas, your hopes are in vain,” said the woman, “But whether or not I mind is not the key issue. I cannot allow you to stay here any longer t,han necessary, by obligation. You can be given directions to the nearest islands, food, and safety for the rest of the day and one night. After that you will leave the island.”

There was muttering among the ska’ols. “Well,” said Tasonn, “Not to be rude, but… we’re staying here for as long as we want whether you want us to or not.”

“Again,” said Seda, “My wants are not truly relevant. This is not a situation of desires, this is a situation of obligations and needs. By noon tomorrow, you will be gone. If you cooperate, you can be provided with food, directions, and a safe night’s sleep. All of that is an act of kindness from me to you. I would advise you to take advantage of it.”

“We thank you for that kindness,” said Tasonn, “But we will be staying for as long as we decide. It’s a large enough island for both you and us.”

Seda sighed as if she was being forced to explain something for the dozenth time. “I reiterate, I am not the issue here,” she said, “If you stay here for as long as you want, you might decide you like it. You put up a few small homes. You reconnect with the outside world, some of you leave, but maybe somebody’s family comes to move here if they need to leave their old home. People stay here and people move here, the population increases, more buildings get put up. Things are cramped so some people move and make buildings further into the woods, by a lake, clear out some underbrush to make it happen. Someone finds out there’s something valuable in these woods, like rare animal pelts or the like, and they manage to sell it to someone who is leaving who will sell it to someone in a city. So a tenuous trade connection forms, and it grows. And people start collecting more of these pelts or herbs or whatever, and people start moving here just so they can make money by collecting them. So outposts get set up all throughout the woods. Then those outposts grow, a few of them becoming real settlements. So more people move here because of all the unclaimed area and profit to be made. Roads are made between these outposts and settlements for easier travel, trees are cut down to make room, animals are hunted for profit, food, or to stop them from harassing settlers. And on and on and on, and the infection of civilization has successfully taken hold of the island. The forest will be forever diminished if not destroyed. My duty is to stop that from happening.”

The ska’ols all stared at Seda for a few moments as they tried to process her long tangent. “Well regardless,” said Tasonn, “How are you going to make us leave if we don’t want to?”

A strong wind blew. It was coming from the direction of the forest, when it should have been coming in from the sea. Birds rose from the trees and started to circle overhead, cawing, and everything seemed to become dimmer. When Tasonn looked back at Seda, she was holding a gnarled wooden spear in one hand and her eyes were glowing green. Growling sounds came from the forest behind her and green eyes appeared from the shadows between trees. Wolves, bears, jaguars, and other beasts crept out of the woods. Such animals did not ordinarily coexist, but the forest was not an ordinary place. 

“You’re not a human, are you?” asked Tasonn.

“I never said I was,” responded Seda. Nothing about her appearance besides her eyes had changed, but she now projected a menacing aura that she hadn’t before.

“You’re a fae,” said the ska’ol.

“That I am,” said Seda, “Here is the choice I present you with: you can either accept the quite generous offer I made earlier, or your corpses can decorate the trees. Which would you prefer?”

“The first one,” said Tasonn nervously.

“Well I don’t know what form of organization you have, but I feel it should be a group decision,” said Seda brightly. She turned to the other gathered ska’ols. “Well, what do all of you think?”

There was an enthusiastic general consensus for option one. “Splendid,” said Seda. The winds stopped and the animals returned to the forest, though the fae woman still held her spear and her eyes still glowed green.

Seda pointed into the forest and the vegetation and roots shifted slightly to reveal a path. “Follow that and you’ll find a lake with ample fresh water and fruit,” she said. The fairy turned back to the ska’ols, “But stick to the path and the lake’s edge. The animals will stay clear of you, but don’t antagonize them. You will not go exploring, and when noon of tomorrow comes, there will be no trace of you left on the island. Follow those rules, and there won’t be any problems. Disobey them and you will suddenly have some very big problems.”

“I hope you understand,” said Tasonn, “We only wanted to stay longer because-”

“No,” said Seda holding up a hand, “No. I don’t care. I don’t want to hear why you came, what you’re fleeing from, what you intended or anything else. That is irrelevant. Whatever you came to seek here, I wish you the best of luck finding it elsewhere.”

Seda walked into the forest without another word. She disappeared into the shadows remarkably quickly and was gone. One of the ska’ols walked up to Tasonn. “Do you think we could take her?” they asked.

“She isn’t some minor fae,” said Tasonn, “She’s powerful. I can tell. I thought all the ones like her lived on the mainland, but apparently not. And this is her domain, which counts for a lot with her kind. If we start a fight with her, the best we could hope for is that most of us survive. She’s being pretty reasonable, so I think we should do as she says.”

For the rest of the day, Seda watched the ska’ols, unseen. They proved to not be idiots and followed the rules she had set for them. They slept on the shore and in their ship. Seda plucked a large leaf and held it out at arm’s length. She stared at it in concentration and black lines spread across it, forming a map of the nearby islands and currents so that the mortals could safely find somewhere else to settle. Seda crept up to the sleeping mortals and tucked the map leaf under one of their arms. With that done, she retreated back to the forest. The next morning the ska’ols gathered all the freshwater and fruit they could and set off. The fae watched them go. In the past, she had given ships a gust of wind to help them leave, but the steamship had no sails.

When the vessel left the island’s vicinity, Seda felt a mild relief from the forest. It was the same feeling she felt every time interlopers either left or were killed. The woods had a strange sort of mind of its own. It ordinarily couldn’t speak, but Seda could always feel it. It was comforting, like the presence of a friend.

“Well, they’re gone,” said Seda aloud, “And nobody even had to die. I wish all mortals were as sensible as those ones.”

The fae resumed her standard routine. Racing and dancing through the forest, communing with the animals, plants, and fungi, fostering life in the forest wherever she thought it best, and always, every day, watching the seas and paying attention to the wind.

It was seven weeks before Seda next caught a scent on the breeze. Mortals, coming in from the southwest. The fairy woman sighed and set off through the forest to meet them.

As they approached, Seda saw that it was three ships. One steam, two sail, with what seemed like ropes between them to help keep them together. That seemed like a potentially bad idea to Seda, but perhaps they had some quick way to detach the ropes. She waited, and more details became clear, both from her view of the ships and the scent on the wind.

The passengers of these ships were also ska’ols, and there were more of them than last time. The ships were each radically different from each other, but all a few dozen feet long. Figures moved onboard. Seda squinted. Those onboard these ships didn’t move the same as the other ska’ols had. They often dropped onto all fours for brief times, and had a sort of loping walk. They seemed shorter than the other ska’ols, and Seda had trouble spotting any that didn’t have tails. As the ships came closer, her ears picked up their voices. Were they… singing?

“And you claw and you bite

And then be off on your way

That is all and you might

Not have to end your day

With your paw and your sight

In a not so lovely waaaaaaay.”

“Huh,” said Seda. Those lyrics could certainly use some improvement, as could the voices of the singers.

The sails of the ships were furled and the steamship stopped pedaling. The three vessels stopped in the water, not far from the shore. Seda and the newcomers stared at each other from across the water. These were the smallest and most reptilian ska’ols that Seda had ever seen. They were all covered in scales of mostly purple, red, and blue. They all had tails and reptilian heads, though many of their snouts were a bit shorter than an actual lizard would probably have. And the tallest of them couldn’t have been well over four feet tall. She knew that the human nickname for the taller breeds of ska’ols was “scowls” and for the shorter ones “scales”.

“Hey!” called one of them, “Do you speak the western tongue?”

“I am fluent in all languages,” called back Seda. Although she had never heard the accent these creatures had before.

“Neat,” said the ska’ol, “If we go on shore, are you going to hurt us?”

Seda thought for a moment. “Not if you don’t try to hurt me or the forest,” she shouted back, “Though I might promise to hurt you later on.”

There was some discussion among the “scales”. They dropped their anchors and many of them jumped out of the ships, dog paddling to the shore. Several of them scampered up to Seda. “Hiya!” said one.

“Hello,” said the fae, “I have never seen any of your kind as small or beastial as you.”

“Thank you,” they responded.

“We had to leave our old home,” said another ska’ol, “Can we stay here?”

Seda opened her mouth to tell them what she had told the last interlopers, but stopped. Something was wrong. The presence of the wood in the back of her mind was not cautious and ready to defend itself as it usually was with newcomers. It was remarkably calm. Seda turned to the trees and gave them a quizzical look. She softly called out to the animals of the forest with her mind and a few birds came, but none of them seemed particularly motivated to answer the call. It was like for some reason the wood didn’t view these newcomers as a threat.

The fae turned back to the scales, who were looking at her with interest. She concentrated, but she didn’t feel any magic about them or on their ship. They weren’t using sorcery to trick her or the forest.

The woods did not exactly have a thinking brain like Seda or a mortal did, but there was an intelligence and will to it. Seda served it loyally and unflinchingly, and it was telling her to let these strange little creatures stay.

“Alright,” said Seda, blinking and trying to adjust to the situation, “You can… well, you can stay. For now.”

There was loud cheering from the ska’ols and several did little dances. Seda chewed her lip as she thought. “But,” she said, louder, “There will be restrictions and rules. If you stay on this island, you do what I tell you to.”

“You want us to serve you?” asked one of the scales, looking like they were none too pleased with this idea. Several others also seemed cautious and defensive.

“No,” said Seda, “Nothing like that. But I have a duty to protect the forest and won’t let any of you get in the way of that duty.”

“Okay,” said the ska’ol, “We don’t wanna hurt your forest. It’s very pretty. Looks very fun.”

“You don’t chop down a single tree,” instructed Seda, “You don’t disturb the vegetation any more than you have to. You be very careful with your hunting of animals, I won’t let any species get even close to endangered because of you. And you will take nothing, nothing from this island with the intention of ever selling it for profit. Not a single pelt, not a single leaf, not even a pebble. Anything you take should be for necessity. And there will not be any connection with the outside world. No trading, no travel. I suppose you can leave if you want, but no one else is to come here.”

There was muttering among the ska’ols and Seda waited. Eventually, a scale that had spoken before said, “That’s good for us. We don’t wanna talk to no outside world either, and we are most very good at living without leaving a lotta signs we’re there.”

“Fine,” said Seda, “But do not for one moment hold the delusion that you own this forest. You are guests here, and you will follow the rules set and act with respect.”

“Of course,” said the ska’ol, “We’ll be most very respectful and follow rules like a vulture follows dead stuff.”

“Right,” said Seda after a moment, “Well, I’ll take my leave.”

The fae headed back into the forest. She didn’t like these newcomers, but they seemed relatively bearable, and she couldn’t deny that a part of her was curious as to how this would turn out.

As the scales settled in, Seda watched them from the trees. There were a little over a hundred of the creatures. They didn’t settle on the shore or one of the clearings as she’d expected, instead they chose to make their home in the branches of the trees. The claws and tails of the ska’ols made them excellent climbers, and they wove together branches and large leaves with remarkable skill. They would hold their little homes together with dried mud. They used other building materials too, and cannibalized one of their sail ships to build the village. The other two ships had been dragged on shore. In constructing their tree village, the scales did an impressive job of not disturbing the forest.

The scales were smarter than they seemed at first, and certainly had skill at crafting. Seda had snuck aboard the creatures’ ships a few times and looked around. The vessels didn’t seem to be made by the ska’ols, and were either stolen or bought, but she spotted numerous instances of well made repairs or modifications made by the scales.

Each day, part of Seda waited for the wood to reject the invaders. And yet the forest only seemed to get more comfortable with the scales over time. She waited for the other shoe to drop, for the ska’ols to start overstepping the boundaries set, but they didn’t. They sometimes came close to crossing the line but every time the fairy was about to intervene, the ska’ols stopped themselves from going too far. She had to warn them once or twice, but nothing severe. The little mortals weren’t arrogant at least.

Fifteen weeks after they ska’ols had first arrived, Seda was standing on a branch, looking out at the sea when a small voice behind her said “Boo!”

The fae turned around and had to grab the bark of the tree to keep from falling. Squatting on a branch in front and a little above her was one of the ska’ols. “Was just trying to see if I could sneak up on ya,” explained the creature, “Did I?”

“Yes,” said Seda, “You did, which is rather impressive.”

“Thank you,” said the ska’ol with a toothy grin.

Seda turned back to the ocean, but it seemed her fellow tree climber wasn’t done with the conversation. “You never asked us where we came from,” he said, “Or why we came here. Why we moved. Never asked us anything really.”

“That is my policy,” said Seda, “The wood cares about actions, not histories or motivations, and I am much the same. You are judged on what you do from the moment you come to this island, not on anything before. No one can make an excuse for their coming here, but are all offered equal mercy regardless of their past. And before you ask, my own history is just as irrelevant. I am of the forest, as are… well, I suppose your kind aren’t quite beings of the forest, but you are relatively tolerable interlopers.”

“That’s us,” said the scale proudly. After a moment’s thought, he said, “So I can’t ask about you before, but what about you now? What are you? Are you like the forest but a lady but also the forest?”

“I am not the personification of the wood,” said Seda, slightly amused, “The most that it can manifest as a person is within my mind. I am a fae, and if I ever left the wood, which I don’t intend to, I would still be a fae out in the rest of the world. But, my magic is tied to the forest. It makes me stronger, and lets me control its animals, its plants, its soil. And I serve it, protecting it from the threat of civilization. I keep the island wild.”

“You the only person connected to the wood this way?” the scale asked.

Seda paused for a moment. “Yes,” she said, “I am the only warden of the forest.”

“Mmm, okay,” said the ska’ol, “Thanks for letting us stay on the island. It’s wonderful.”

“It is,” replied Seda, “And I wouldn’t have permitted such a thing if the wood itself had not welcomed you here, for reasons still beyond my comprehension.”

“Still,” said the mortal, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” said Seda, “And I don’t mind your presence on the island as much as I thought I would.”

Seasons passed, and a little more than a year after the scales had first arrived, Seda felt something. The wood wished to speak with her. There was a way for her to more directly communicate with the forest than merely feeling its mood in the back of her mind, and it would sometimes request one such audience when it had something to say that could not be communicated simply.

So the fae headed to a spot deep within the forest, a large den. The forest held many mysteries, and the den was one of them. Any animals that lived within it became slightly larger and more ferocious than average, but it was also the only place where Seda could speak with the forest directly. As she entered, a wolf lifted its head from sleep and growled at her.

“Don’t take that tone with me,” said Seda, “This is important.” After a moment, the wolf lowered its head and went back to sleep.

Seda walked to the very back of the cave. She sat cross legged and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the forest, willed it to take the form of a speaking being within her own mind.

“Hello, Seda,” said a voice to her left. The fae looked. Sitting beside her was a bear made from lines of green light. The personification of the forest always appeared as the recipient imagined them, and the form Seda saw the forest in had changed over time.

“Hello,” said Seda, “Why did you want to talk to me?”

“These newcomers have adapted well to the forest,” said the voice of the forest inside Seda’s mind, the bear’s mouth moving roughly in sync with it, as much as a bear’s mouth could.

“Yes,” said Seda hesitantly, “They have turned out to be better than I anticipated. But I still don’t understand why you let them stay in the first place.”

There was a pause. “You are the island’s only guardian,” said the forest, “Perhaps, more are needed.”

Seda blinked in confusion. “What, them?” she asked, “I have no animosity towards the scales but they aren’t… guardians. They’re a bunch of small mortals who are somewhat clever but don’t have a scrap of magic.”

“Then perhaps they could use some of mine,” said the bear, “I sensed potential in them when they first arrived. I think they would help you well.”

“I don’t need help,” said Seda, “I have protected you for more years than I can count, and for the last nine of those years done it alone. Nothing has been more than I could handle. I am fine alone.”

“As you said, you protected me alongside others before,” said the forest, “And you are a mighty and powerful protector, perhaps the greatest I have ever had, and I am grateful for you, but I never intended to have but one guardian. But the dryads all went to slumber, the werewolf pack left, and the other fae were killed.”

“I remember,” said Seda. It had been hard to watch her comrades all abandon her. But she had survived, and she had continued to perform her duty.

“The ancestors of the scales’ kind once dwelled within and protected the forest,” said the bear spirit, “Long, long ago.”

“Well that doesn’t mean that they will make good guardians,” said Seda, “And like I said, I haven’t had any trouble with those that have arrived so far.”

“There are greater things in the world than small groups of lost mortals,” said the forest.

“And you think that the ska’ols will be able to stop them?” Seda asked.

“No,” replied the spirit of the wood, “But I think that you and them together might be capable of such a thing. I do not consider this urgent enough to force upon you, Seda. If you do not wish them to become guardians, they will not be. But keep what I have said in mind.”

With that, the green light of the bear disappeared and the voice in Seda’s mind silenced. She sighed, before getting up and leaving the den. She could defend the forest on her own.

As the weeks continued to go by, Seda felt confident in her decision. The wood did not summon her again, trusting her judgment on what to decide. But half a year after that meeting, a new wind came to the island. When she felt it, Seda froze. She ran across the island to the shore and waited to feel the wind again. She inhaled as it rushed along her skin. It carried the tingle of magic. She smelled something, but it was not mortals. It was the sweet, yet almost sickening scent of other fae.

Seda spotted the approaching ships far away, yet steadily growing. The wind blew too hard and too directly to be natural, and she was sure it was being used to fill the sails of those ships. The forest warden prayed that they weren’t what she feared they were, but as the scent grew closer and stronger it became all too clear. These were fae of the Seelie Court, a breed of fairy more civilized than the others. This meant they usually got on relatively well with mortals, but it also meant they would have little respect for Seda or the forest.

“What’s wrong?” asked the voice of a scale. Seda looked down. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t even noticed the mortal creeping up. Seda at this point knew the names of several of the ska’ols, and she knew this one was called Oska. “You looked like something was really concerning you,” the ska’ol woman continued, “Is it those ships out there?”

“Yes,” said Seda “They belong to… some very dangerous individuals. I don’t know your people’s history, but you once mentioned that you did not want to serve me, correct?”

“Yeah,” said Oska, “We don’t serve nobody. No more bosses.”

“I don’t know why these fae are here,” said Seda, “But they are of the Seelie Court, and I don’t think they will be kind to your clan. They might offer you a choice between serving them or facing their wrath. I could be wrong, and hopefully it won’t become an issue, but I thought you should know. And when they do come, I need all of you to stay out of their sight. Go tell the others.”

After a moment, Oska nodded and ran off. Seda hadn’t told the scales to stay away only for their own protection. Seelie fae were skilled at using glamour to make mortals do what they wanted. Seda and the beasts of the wood would be immune, as the forest’s magic was within them, but the scales wouldn’t be. Seda didn’t need the ska’ols being magically convinced to turn on her or each other just before a fight.

Seda took a deep breath and conjured up the power of the forest. Her eyes began to glow a brighter green, the beasts of the wood started to gather, and her branch spear manifested in her hand. The fae’s form began to shift as well, her dress turning into a layer of fur across her body and her bare feet turning to paws. Claws formed at the tips of her fingers, and branches sprouted from her head. Even without the horns she stood about a foot taller than she had before. These newcomers were not going to be intimidated easily, and Seda wanted to be prepared for battle.

The ships grew closer. There were three of them. The sides of each ship looked as if they were made of gold, which was probably just an enchantment. Their sails had elaborate and beautiful designs on them and the ships were sleek and elegant. They seemed poorly suited for holding large amounts of cargo or passengers, but it was possible they were enchanted to be larger on the inside than made sense.

Seda began to see the figures atop the ships. Many of them could be confused for humans, but there were some figures with wings, horns, or tails whose inhumanity was unquestionable.

The winds driving the ships suddenly stopped when the vessels were not far from the shore. Seda expected them to drop anchor and awkwardly swim out to the shore like the other arrivals had, but of course she should have known that Seelie fae never did anything inelegantly. The sea shimmered and three long paths of glass formed on top of the water, leading out to the ships. The three vessels were tied to the magically formed piers with golden rope, and the interlopers started to walk from their ships to the glass bridges to the shore. In the back of her mind, Seda felt the hostility of the forest towards these invaders. They were not at all like the scales.

“Salutations, fellow fae,” said one of the newcomers. He wore golden claw ring jewelry and a wide set of white and red butterfly wings were attached to his back. Seda sensed power within him, perhaps equal to even her own. “I am Duke Ambos of the Seelie. I assume that you are not of our court. Unseelie then?”

Seda didn’t miss the disdain in his voice. “No,” said Seda, “I am named Seda, and I am of no fae court. I serve and protect the forest, and in the sake of that duty, I have to ask you to leave.”

Ambos frowned slightly and tilted his head. The other fae were gathering behind him. “So,” said the duke, “This island is yours?”

That was one of the things Seda had never liked about the Seelie. To them, the only reason anything existed was to entertain them, to be someone’s property, or to be gotten rid of. “No,” growled Seda, “This forest belongs to no one and it will remain that way.”

“But you must understand-” began the Seelie.

“I must do nothing,” said Seda, interrupting him, “I don’t care about why you came here, what has happened in the outside world, or what justifications you have for why you have the right to remain. Leave now, or face my wrath.”

The fae duke glared and flexed his fingers. Seda knew just from his reaction that he was going to refuse. So, just as he was about to speak the first syllable of his reply, she moved forward, fast as a lunging snake, and stabbed him down through the chest with her spear.

Ambos gasped as the tip of the spear buried itself in the sand. Seda willed her power into the weapon and it began to sprout branches and grow roots, tearing the Seelie apart. In moments, where he had stood was a medium sized tree with several pieces of the duke attached to it, dripping with his golden blood.

One of the other fae drew a sword and charged at Seda, but with a thought from her, the tree’s branches reached down and threw them with force against another fae. Birds and beasts exploded from the tree cover, their eyes shining with green light. Several winged fae tried to fly upwards but were mobbed by birds. Bears, wolves, panthers, stags, and even weasels charged at those on the ground.

For a moment, Seda thought that the battle was in her favor. But she had forgotten that these were not ordinary mortal opponents, not even mortals with magic. Three fae in gray robes raised their hands in unison and a powerful wind ripped through the air, sending the birds tumbling into each other. Seda reached up and tried to control the air, but to no avail. The earth, animals, and plants of the forest were hers, but all fae had sway with the winds and these Seelie had more power than her. Another one of the fae snapped his fingers and the tree Seda had grown exploded with a burst of fire.

Even the lowlier fae with less raw magical power were dangerous. They were faster, stronger, and more pain tolerant than mortal warriors, with centuries of combat practice and enchanted fae armaments more powerful than ordinary steel. Bears were decapitated by shining golden blades, and glowing white crossbow bolts shot down wolves.

Seda was about to join the fight herself when she was struck by a blast of wind and sent tumbling back several feet through sand. The fae mage that had hit her raised his hand for another blast, but suddenly a stone went hurtling through the air and struck him on the side of the head. The stone would have knocked out or possibly killed a mortal, but it merely made the fae stumble. Seda looked towards the trees. Three ska’ols hunched in the branches, stones and slings in their hands. With a moment’s concentration, she could feel four more hiding in the underbrush with daggers ready. That wasn’t good.

“What cute little creatures,” commented a Seelie with red cardinal wings and a harp. They began to strum its strings and a gentle melody floated through the air. The ska’ols froze in place and blinked. Then they started to growl and hiss. The scales descended on each other in feral fury, all while the merry notes of the enchanted song played in the background. Seda and the beasts she commanded were protected by the magic of the wood, but the ska’ols had no such protection.

Seda was not given the opportunity to try and stop the frenzied scales, as she saw a shimmer in the air next to her. A fae with a feline tail who had previously been invisible materialized and slashed out at Seda with a dagger, scoring a long gash along her right shoulder. Seda swung at the other fae with one clawed hand, but the warrior ducked and stabbed the forest fae in the stomach. Seda growled and headbutted her attacker, which sent the Seelie stumbling. She lunged and pinned her opponent to the ground. The Seelie managed to plant her dagger in the other’s back before Seda ripped her throat out.

Unsteadily, Seda stood and pulled the dagger out, hissing with pain as she did so. It hurt considerably more than any mortal weapon could. She stumbled. And the dagger had been poisoned, because of course it had. The protector of the wood looked at the battlefield. Of the seven ska’ols that had gathered to fight, only two of them lived, both still under the effects of the madness song. The animals that Seda had gathered had also suffered heavy casualties, while there were still a few dozen Seelie fae left.

Retreat, thought Seda. The animals turned and ran back to the forest. She managed to climb onto a stag’s back and let it carry her away to relative safety. When they were far enough from the shore, the creature stopped to let her dismount. Seda slid off the stag and fell to the ground.

The protector of the wood managed to turn around onto her back. She looked down and saw her bronze blood trickling onto the soil. With the power of the wood sustaining her, the wounds and poison wouldn’t kill her, but they would prevent her from fighting for at least a day. She could still command the powers of the forest, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop the invaders.

A scaled snout came into Seda’s vision. “You alright?” asked a worried looking scale.

“No,” answered Seda, “I was an arrogant fool and now the forest is going to pay for it. Even if I can fight them off, they’ll destroy quite a bit of woodland and kill many animals before then.”

Seda could feel more ska’ols approaching her through the earth. “We sent some fighters to help you,” one of them said, “Did they die?”

“Most of them, yes,” said Seda, “There are two I don’t know for certain about, but I don’t trust the Seelie to be merciful.”

Back on the shore, a fae named Arken stood. He supposed he was Duke Arken now, since his father had been killed by that wild fae. Very similar red and white butterfly wings fluttered lightly behind his back, though he also had spots of yellow in them. “Would you stop that blasted song?” he asked, “The Lullaby of Frenzy always makes my ears ache.”

“Of course, your grace,” said the harp player, who was known as Devent. They stopped plucking the strings and the single growling ska’ol that remained blinked, suddenly dazed. Arken strode quickly up to the little creature and knelt in front of it.

“Hello,” he said, “Do you mind telling me what else might be waiting for us in that forest, if we were to attempt to hunt down and kill the fae who slayed my father?” Without waiting for an answer, he tilted the scale’s head so that their eyes met. Arken’s eyes gleamed with pale orange light.

“There is the rest of my village,” said the mesmerized ska’ol, “Fifty of us are fighters. We and the fae, Seda, are the only people in the woods. She is the only guardian.”

“Wonderful,” said Arken, “Go to sleep now. No need to ever wake up.” The scale collapsed to the ground, still and silent.

Arken walked along the shore until he found the body of Ilson, who had tried to kill the wild fae with a dagger. Arken picked the dagger up and observed the bronze blood that stained it. “Summon the hounds,” he ordered. Three fae sages in gray robes came up to him. As one, they each held their hands up to their mouths and whistled. Gray mist started to rise from the ground, and it thickened and coalesced into the shape of a pair of hunting dogs.

The new duke turned back to his gathered warriors. “If we are to settle on this isle, we must first tame its inhabitants and protectors,” he proclaimed, “There is a village of mortals who will make adequate servants, though they will likely provide resistance at first. The primary threat is the one called Seda. She is wounded, so we will hunt her down and kill her before she can recover her strength. Kill any beasts or mortals that try to impede us.”

As the Seelie soldiers gathered behind him, Arken held the bloodied dagger out to the mist hounds. They each sniffed it and without a sound turned to the forest and began moving, slowly enough the fae could keep up. Arken drew his sword. He always loved hunting.

Seda sighed. “They’ve entered the forest,” she said, “Damn. I was hoping that they would wait and give me time to recover, but it seems they’re not that stupid. There are somewhere around forty of them, and I think I counted five that could wield powerful magic. That’s not good.”

“Can we help defend?” asked one of the scales.

The fae gave them a long look. “Perhaps you can,” she said, “If you wish to fight to defend this forest, gather as many of your warriors as you can.”

The scales hurried off to do that, and soon returned with more. It wasn’t long before Seda was completely surrounded by a sea of them. “I know a way to make you stronger and protect you from the fae’s enchantments,” she said, groaning as she pulled herself up on a nearby tree, “Are all of you willing to dedicate yourselves to defending the forest?”

There was murmuring among the ska’ols, and a general agreement of “yes”.

Seda drew in a deep breath and held out a hand while still leaning against the tree trunk. “Then through the right of wardenship given to me by the spirit of the wood, I declare all of you to be its guardians.”

A shiver ran through the ska’ols. When all of them looked up, their eyes glowed green. Each of them shifted, growing accustomed to the sudden sensation of feeling the forest around them. They could feel the earth and trees, the birds and bugs. And in the back of their mind, each of them felt the presence of the wood itself. And it called upon them to defend.

Arken and the other Seelie fae made their way through the forest, following the hounds. The ground was traitorous and the roots themselves seemed to move to try and trip them, but fae were naturally graceful and not easy to impede through such means. The underbrush was thick and it would be easy to get lost here, but the hounds followed the path of Seda’s scent unerringly. Figures would sometimes move between the tree trunks or branches, but they didn’t attack. Arken could sense the deep power within the soil and trees. He could sense that these woods did not want him here, but he knew that it had no way to stop him.

A stone about the size of an apple dropped from above and struck the ground an inch in front of Arken. He looked up and narrowly managed to dodge another stone being dropped onto his head. Rocks started to rain down, striking the fae hunting party. The soldiers either raised shields or diverted the incoming projectiles with blasts of wind. Peering upwards, Arken could see several of the short scaled things hunched in the trees, dropping stones. “Devent, give them a performance,” ordered the duke.

The fae with the harp smiled and nodded before beginning to run their fingers across the strings. The Lullaby of Frenzy began again, and the stones stopped falling. “Now-” began Devent. They were cut off as a larger rock fell from the trees and knocked the harp out of their hands, crushing it.

Other round objects began to rain from above, though these weren’t stones. They were tightly bound together orbs made from leaves that fell apart upon hitting the ground. Some kind of brownish green paste was inside them and after a second Arken started to choke from the noxious scent rising from whatever it was.

Desperate to get away from the terrible odor of the pods, the fae scattered. Arken and several others stopped when they’d gotten far enough away for the smell to fade to a bearable amount. “What is that, poison?” he asked.

“No,” said a nearby voice, “It’s made from a type of flower in the forest. Harmless, but smells real bad.” Arken looked down to see one of the scales, though this one had glowing green eyes. It leapt forward, as did three others that appeared from the underbrush. They jumped onto one of the fae soldiers and dragged her away into the shadows of the forest in the blink of an eye. 

Arken and the other fae pursued and found their comrade with her throat slit. The duke glared around, but couldn’t find where the horrible little creatures had disappeared to. “Your grace?” said one of the other fae footsoldiers, “Her crossbow and dagger are missing.”

“Why is that significant?” Arken had time to ask before a glowing white bolt whizzed through the air and struck the soldier he was talking to in the chest.

“Ah,” the duke said.

Not far away in the forest, several of the Seelie had taken flight. They soon learned this was a poor decision as ska’ols jumped from the trees and landed on their backs. It didn’t matter if you were a mystical and ageless being of perfection incarnate if you had a small but vicious monster with sharp teeth gnawing through your wings.

The three gray robed fae stood in a circle and raised their hands in unison. Vicious winds began to rip through the branches, trying to knock the ska’ols down. They were distracted when they heard the sound of crunching leaves and twigs. They all turned to see a bear charging at them, being ridden by a pair of scales who were holding a stolen Seelie spear.

“Oh dear,” managed one of the sages before she was impaled by the spear. The other two were trampled by the bear.

“This is so much fun I’m kinda mad Seda didn’t let us do this earlier,” one of the ska’ols commented.

Arken stomped through the underbrush, bloody sword in hand. These damnable ska’ols moved through the forest with unnatural ease. It was like every branch, root, and bush was doing all it could to make their passage easier, while also impeding any Seelie. His people were being slaughtered by beasts and mortals with only a scrap of borrowed magic. At least that wild fae had been a fellow being of magic. This was just humiliating.

A ska’ol tried to drop on the duke from above. He flicked a hand and a gust of wind slammed the wretch into a tree, snapping their spine. A leopard leapt out at him from the shadows and he skewered it on his sword.

Then Arken spotted a pair of hounds made from mist through the trees, and he smiled. The hounds moved ever onward, following the scent they had been given, oblivious of everything around them. They were headed towards the wild fae, and if she died then perhaps these forest animals would lose their unnatural coordination.

The duke followed the hounds. After a minute or so they led him to an area where the trees were slightly thinner. Seda lay on the ground, several deep gashes across her skin. Her eyes were open and she watched the hounds advance on her. She took in a deep breath and blew it out. A strong wind rushed forward and blew the hounds apart into nothing more than mist.

“I’m afraid that won’t save you,” said Arken, stepping forward, “You killed my father. I will have my vengeance.”

Seda looked at the Seelie’s wings and noted how they looked similar to the duke’s. “I did kill him,” she said, “And I won’t pretend to be remorseful for it. I gave him an opportunity to turn away, and in his arrogance he refused. You had the opportunity to lead your people away as well, and you ignored it just as he did.”

“When you die, the beasts of this forest will be without leadership and easy to kill,” said Arken, “This wood will be ours.”

“Is that really what you think?” asked Seda, amused, “These animals belong to the forest, not me. Sure, I’m helping to coordinate them a little, but if you kill me they will continue to rip apart your soldiers. And as for the ska’ols, well, they are wardens of the forest too now. They will continue to protect it if I die, and more protectors will come eventually to aid them. If you kill me, you will still be driven off the island.”

“Perhaps,” said Arken, “But I see no reason to not do it anyways.”

“Alright then,” said Seda, “I was just distracting you so I could have time to prepare anyways.”

Arken stalked forward. He was almost about to reach the wild fae when suddenly his foot caught on something. He looked down. A root that had not been there a moment ago now wrapped around one of his feet. He tried to stab at the fae on the ground, but she was just out of reach. Growling in frustration, the duke attempted to hack off the root around his foot. When he struck the point where the root emerged from the ground, his sword stuck. He tried to pull it out, but it was like the plant was growing around the blade to keep it in place. Arken attempted to readjust his stance, but found it difficult as his boots were sinking into the earth. His wings beat and he tried to fly free, but his foot was still caught on the root. Desperately, the Seelie pulled and thrashed, but he only continued to sink into the earth as more and more roots started to wrap around his legs.

The Seelie duke gave Seda a death glare. He pulled back one hand and conjured in it a ball of red flame. Just as he was about to hurl it forward, a stone whistled through the air and struck his hand. The fire shot off harmlessly into the empty air. Arken turned to see a ska’ol with a sling, grinning at him.

“You filthy little-” Arken had time to begin before the soil covered his mouth. He sank down into the earth until nothing of him could be seen.

Seda let out a long sigh and wiped her brow. “Thank you, Akos,” she said, “That took all I had left. I need to sleep. I’ll be back in a few days, I promise. In the meantime, you deal with the remaining Seelie.”

The ska’ol nodded and scampered off to tell the others. Seda closed her eyes and let healing sleep take her.

Back on the ships, several fae had remained. For the most part, they were those who were not fighters. One of them stood on the deck, leaning against the railing, watching the forest. She saw movement from the trees and stood up, excited. Green eyes appeared from the shadows of the forest and advanced. Ska’ols slowly emerged from the woods, many riding stags, bears, or panthers. Several were also holding bloodstained Seelie weapons. That wasn’t good.

“Hey!” one of the scales called out, “Fairy people? Can we talk to you? We promise, we don’t wanna hurt you, unless you try to hurt us.”

Several Seelie cautiously came up to the shore. “Where is Duke Arken?” one of them asked.

A ska’ol looked over her shoulder at the forest and said, “Ten feet underground somewhere around there.” She gestured in a general direction. “He’s dead, by the way.”

There was muttering among the fae, much of it them trying to figure out who was in command now. “Listen!” yelled the ska’ol that had first spoken, “We don’t want to hurt ya. Just leave the island and find somewhere else to be and something else to do, whatever you want as long as you never come back.”

The remaining fae were all too happy to oblige and desperately fled back to their vessels. Soon, the golden ships were sailing away. There were cheers from the scales, as well as several celebratory songs, the lyrics and singing voices used making the retreating Seelie cringe.

Three days later, Seda’s green eyes opened. She groaned and sat up, brushing herself off. She stretched and yawned. She concentrated for a moment and spread her awareness through the forest. She smiled as she felt the blessed lack of Seelie. The guardian of the forest also felt the ska’ols, moving throughout the wood, connected to it as she was now. They were new at this, but they would be excellent wardens of the wood. And together, she and them would serve the forest, protect it from the threat of civilization, and keep the island wild.