Chương 22: Fact or Fantasy

Seraphina smiled.

"It's a popular misconception that the realms are unique. The truth is that all the realms are composed of the same matter. It's what their populations do to it that makes one realm differ from the next." Confusion flickered in the young fairy's eyes as she listened to Seraphina explain.

"Okay, let me give you a little history lesson, one that you will never find in a book," Seraphina began. A slight shiver ran up her spine while the sun dipped behind the trees in the west, casting ominous shadows on the path before them.

"What do you mean, I won't find it in a book?" Celestia asked doubtfully.

"If it's history then it should be in a book. Everything ends up written down, Seraphina."

"Okay, then let me tell you a story. One I believe holds far more weight than most are willing to acknowledge, especially the historians," she said earnestly.

"There was once only one realm. Everything from fairies to dwarves and everything in between, all lived together." She looked down at Little Miss, who appeared to be listening intently.

"As you can imagine, the realm had its problems. Every species thought they knew what was best and wanted to be in charge. So, although they all lived in the same realm, no one could ever describe it as…" She paused to collect her thoughts.

"A harmonious existence."

"There was a great deal of fighting between the different groups. So much so that they drew up borders, separating species into nations. Each group clung to their customs and practices, with little or no respect for another species' beliefs." She took in a deep contemplative breath.

"The one thing each group had never considered or failed to see was that each species had an inherent set of skills. If only they had learned to work together, as a whole, the realm would have become so much more. More than any one species could have ever imagined." Celestia listened, considering the implications of the story, the gears of her mind turning rapidly.

"This sounds like pure fiction, Seraphina. Where did you come across this tale?" Seraphina flashed Celestia with a look of complete annoyance.

"It's a story the elders have told for eons. Didn't your parents or grandparents ever share any of this with you? Do you want to hear it, or just keep interrupting?" Celestia met Seraphina's gaze and began her retort with an air of superiority that only the well-educated can summon.

"It's a fascinating story, but I doubt there is much fact in it. Yes, I've heard versions of that tale before, and I never found any of them convincing. I come from a long line of academics, so there was little need for fairy tale nonsense. So, unless you have some new revelation, something I haven't already heard, I doubt you are going to change my mind," she said with a huff as she folded her arms.

Seraphina stopped walking and turned to the young fairy before looking down at Little Miss, who seemed to be assessing the exchange with keen interest. Had Seraphina not known better she would have sworn that the child rolled her eyes in response to Celestia's dismissal.

"Celestia, I want you to forget for five minutes what you know, or think you know, and listen, before passing judgment." Celestia sighed heavily.

"Fine," she huffed, the look on her face speaking more than any words could. The look that screamed, I don't really want to listen to this but if it will get you to shut up, I will suck it up.

"Where was I?" she asked herself, rewinding the story in her head, "Yes, if the different groups had worked together as a whole instead of fragmenting, things would look far different. The thing that most do not understand is that genetically speaking, all the races are pretty much the same. We are all cut from the same cloth so to speak."

"What do you mean cut from the same cloth?" Celestia asked.

"You're not implying that we are all offshoots of the same family tree… are you?" Seraphina thought about this for a moment, then smiled.

"That is an excellent way to put it, Celestia. Every species is related. Over several hundred thousand millennia, we evolved differently to adapt to our environments."

"Think of humans, for instance," Seraphina continued.

"Some have dark skin, some have light skin, and some fall somewhere in between. Each offshoot of the human race evolved differently over time to adapt to climate, geographical location, or other survival-impacting factors. At one time, they were all alike. And although on the outside they may look different from one another, on the inside they are all the same." Celestia considered this carefully.

"So, you are saying that despite the physical differences between us, we are all the same?"

"Yes. You and I are no different on the inside than, say, Little Miss here. She may have physical traits that would define her as Elven or even Human, but she is no different on the inside than you or I." Celestia, now fascinated, realized she had never really thought about it in terms like that.

"So, that must be why we have wings but cannot fly," she said softly.

"Yes, use it or lose it. Somewhere along the way, fairies stopped flying, now we no longer have that ability." Seraphina said sadly. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"So how did we end up with different dimensions, and everyone spread all over the place?"

"Here's where the waters get muddied. By some accounts, an ancient race of beings escaped to our realm, from a far more advanced civilization," Seraphina began.

"Wait, if there was only one realm then where did they come from?" Celestia interrupted.

"Exactly! How can the story be true if it contradicts, right?" Seraphina asked rhetorically.

"I told you the water gets muddied here." She looked over her shoulder at Celestia.

"I'm not sure, but I think if there is any truth to the story then it would be impossible for there to be only one realm. There may have only been one realm they were aware of, but more out there. These ancient beings had the capability to travel interdimensionally, so I believe there are dimensions out there that we may not even be aware of." Seraphina turned and quickened her pace down the path.

"We need to walk and talk, Celestia. One thing about the Elven realm is that when night falls here, it falls. It will be like trying to walk blindfolded, you'd be lucky to see your own hand in front of your face. Once we make it out of the forest, it should be better, but the canopy seldom lets any light in." Celestia adjusted her pace to keep up with Seraphina.

"Please go on, Seraphina, I want to hear more," she said, realizing that things weren't as simple as she believed. Seraphina smirked.

"Okay, so these ancient beings came to our dimension from another plane of existence. They may have looked like us but had what I guess we'd call magical powers. To be honest, I think the term 'magic' is just a blanket term for things we don't understand. There's nothing magical or mystical about any of it. They just had a deeper understanding of how things work and how to manipulate the world around them."

"You know, I think you may be right on that one. When I was a child, we had an uncle who was a so-called magician. I would be in awe of the things he could do. There seemed to be no logical explanation as to how he could make something 'disappear.' As I got older, I began to watch him more closely and figured out that this supposed 'magic' was simply a whole lot of deflection and sleight of hand," she said, shaking her head.

"I was crushed."

"Yeah, that takes away so much of childhood innocence when you begin to understand that it wasn't a remarkable feat, but instead just a carefully executed lie," Seraphina said, shaking her head.

"But anyway, a small group of these ancient beings somehow escaped their realm, for reasons that vary, depending upon who's telling the story." She chuckled.

"But they made it here." Seraphina looked down at Little Miss, who, to her dismay, seemed utterly fascinated. She smiled warmly at the infant before continuing.

"The group also varies in size, some accounts say twenty while others claim the number was in the hundreds." She stopped and looked over her shoulder to be sure she had not lost Celestia in the tangle of branches.

"To the indigenous inhabitants of the realm, these beings were like gods. They could do things unlike any other being." With darkness closing in, Celestia tripped on a tree root in the fading light. She caught herself just in time, but in the process, bumped into Seraphina with a slight jolt.

"Oops." She laughed.

"Sorry about that, please go on," she said to Seraphina, who had turned around quickly to see what had just hit her. Seraphina shook her head as she turned.

"As time went on, the different species continued fighting. What began as mere squabbles escalated into full-scale war. Each faction believed they should be the ones in charge and were doing all they could to seize power."

"The ancient beings, or as I like to call them, visitors, for the most part stayed out of it. As time went on, they tried to reason with the different factions, hoping they would understand that if the fighting continued, they would not only destroy themselves, but the entire realm as well." Seraphina looked down at Little Miss, who shook her head sadly.

"Oh, so you agree?" she asked the baby absently. Celestia, thinking that Seraphina was talking to her, called out, "What? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing, I was just talking to Little Miss," she said, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

"Please finish the story, I'm dying to know what happened," Celestia said, almost pleading.

"Well, the visitors over time had migrated to different areas in the realm. Some joined the elves, some with the fairies, some with the dwarves, you get the idea." She sighed.

"As the fighting continued, the visitors decided that they had to put an end to it before all became lost. They decided that the only pathway to peace was if the different species were separated." She paused before adding, "permanently."

"They established new realms, relocating each species to a separate one. This is how we ended up with so many different realms, and gods." Celestia's eyes widened as things began to seem less far-fetched than she originally believed.

"So, where is the original realm?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

"The fairy realm is the original realm. The fairy race was designated the keepers of the gates by the ancient visitors," she said, spotting the smoke rising up in the distance.

"We're almost there." She exhaled, feeling the tension begin to slip away. Her feet ached, her shoulders hurt. This walk, the one she could make in her sleep, felt as if it had taken hours. It's about time. Almost there, she thought, before her stomach clenched. She looked down at Little Miss, realizing she was no closer to figuring out what she would tell Sheera once they arrived than she was when they started out. Celestia walked on silently, pondering Seraphina's story.

Suddenly, one piece of the prophecy took on a whole new meaning.

"A child born of many, which is really only one, will piece back what was broken, a new era will have begun," she whispered.

"Did you say something?" Seraphina asked over her shoulder. Celestia reached out for Seraphina's arm, causing her to turn.

"Well, up until now, the prophecy seemed like a giant riddle wrapped in an enigma, but one line now makes far too much sense to be ignored," she began excitedly.

"Well, tell me!" Seraphina demanded.

"A child born of many, which is really only one, will piece back what was broken, a new era will have begun," she gushed, smiling at her own cleverness.

"Little Miss here is a child born of many. We know she has human and elven origins, but we know that's not all, based on well…" she paused, "you know."

"Based on your story, all species were living together. Then the visitors, ancient ones, whatever," she stated dismissively before continuing.

"They split the factions up because they couldn't play nice with one another. Each faction was sent to their proverbial room in a separate dimension. Little Miss will be the one to put it all back together," she said, exceptionally proud of herself for connecting dots scholars had been trying to connect for years. Seraphina's eyes widened.

"Celestia, you are beyond a doubt brilliant. That makes too much sense to ignore." She looked down at Little Miss.

"You are going to do great things down the road, but we need to keep you out of sight in the interim. Some realms may not relish the reunification of worlds. They may do all they can to prevent that from happening. Your life may in fact be in more danger than I originally thought." Little Miss looked up at her, her big bright blue eyes cutting through the dimness.

"Okay kid, you really need to stop doing that before you draw the wrong attention to yourself." She laughed, kissing the top of the baby's head.