In the dead of night, the fox and the sparrow dashed throughout Lir, all the shops and taverns closed with their patrons at rest. Long before the war, this would’ve been the Mischief Hour, where the Fae would visit the dreams of man and engage in some harmless fun. Some would give humans the most beautiful dreams, some more pleasurable while others dabbled in nightmares. The best were the dreams of children whose innocence would create the purest and strongest dreams. In a single night, thousands of Fae would be born and their energy helped grow the Veil. 

But for fox and sparrow, they only knew the decay of the Veil. Humans were completely oblivious to the power they wield over the Fae but the reverse was also true. 

While the kingdom of Lir was thriving and affluent, the citizens lacked passion, their dreams were empty…no true joy or even desire. Even the impoverished among them lacked imagination. King Cronhe could only promise wealth and power and only to those who proved useful in combat. Those that survive would be granted titles and land while the nobles simply fed on the effort of the peasant knights fighting and dying to fill their plush fur-lined pockets with gold. 

Dawn would be in a few hours and both fox and sparrow needed to find a place to sleep outside their animal forms but they were not leaving the kingdom empty handed. Tonight they were successful in finding small flower patches of faint magic. Happily, they helped the tiny pixies emerge from with their buds, glowing little pixies that looked more like moths. In a century or so, they’ll be able to choose their forms as true Fae but for now, they are at their most vulnerable. If they were to come in contact with iron or the morning sun, it would be fatal. 

Sparrow and Fox directed the pixies to the Dark Woods and hoped that they could survive the journey home but truthfully, very few would.

“I’m tired,” The sparrow whines, flopping on the fox’s back, “I don’t think we’ll find any more.”

“I don’t think so either.” And the fox curled up behind some trash barrels, “We can’t stay in Lir, it’s too damn risky.”

“Why don’t we go see him? The one who tells stories?” And the fox turned his head to stare at his feathered friend, “It’s better than sleeping here..”

“Sparrow.”

“We won’t make it back home before dawn,” The sparrow tweeted. “At least we know we’ll be safe with him.” The fox knew he was right, even if he ran hard and fast...he wouldn't make it into the Dark Woods with burns and in his current state, he won't recover. The sparrow buried himself in the fox's fur as he scurried through the alleyways, trying to keep out of the sight of the guards as he made way to the castle and scaled down the ramparts to the drainage pipe. Only to see that it was recently reinforced with iron bars. “Stay here, I’ll go and find him.”

“Make it quick, I hate getting wet.” And the small sparrow flew in between the bars while the fox looked worried for his friend.

Every year, the amount of pixies born shrinks and shrinks.

The Veil was dying.

They were dying.

The sparrow returned to the fox and led him down past the drainage to a small alcove where a lone figure in a cloak held a lantern and welcomed the weary creatures inside. A small kindness and safety from the dawn’s light.

The morning’s blade of light flashed on Ewen’s face forcing him to wake up, in his dreams he saw the two lovers and wanted nothing more than to forget seeing them. Since it was so early, he took his chance to get to the baths while the water was fresh and heated. Today he needed to plan for the Blessings Festival, he really didn’t need to memorize the founding of Lir but he did want to do some…alterations, nothing too exaggerated but definitely more entertaining. Of course he took Praetor Ludwig’s words to heart, King Cronhe was not someone that was interested in fantasy but he at the same time, this was Ewen’s calling and he couldn’t ignore it. 

Ewen dipped his toes in the warm water with a sigh, he couldn’t take too long so he quickly took a chip of soap and lathered his body with as much of the plain bubbles as possible. Ewen quickly went to work splashing water all over his body, the faster, the better–but he sensed a set of eyes on him.

Standing not too far from him, was the blonde from last night. He was dressed in a silk white shirt and deep purple tights so form fitting that it left nothing to the imagination but he also had a red sash around his slender waist, he was healthy and bright.

“Well, hello again.” He grinned and flicked his golden locks from his face then sat on the edge of the bath and twirled his finger in the suds and blowing them off with a smile. “Did you enjoy the show yesterday?”