Hearth - Hestia's Epiphany

p r o l o g u e

"Life for us fae-folk changed when the dragons came to Fotiá, in many different ways."

A young fae girl looked up from her reading to see her grandfather wandering over towards his favourite oakwood chair. The elder's movements were hindered and weak. His round, once-handsome face was covered in lines, spots and loose folds of skin, as the entirety of his complexion mimicked. His warm, brown eyes often held a compassionate expression to them, but today they were dark and empty. Witnessing Grandfather in this weak state saddened the fae girl, so she decided to close her book and listen to him.

The little girl tossed aside the book of myths she had been reading and tumbled over to Grandfather's side with a giggle and a sweet smile up at him. This expression of happiness earned a soft chuckle from the senior creature. Without a second thought, Grandfather picked up his granddaughter and placed her in his lap. He ran his skeletal fingers through the girl's hair, while being careful as to not touch the pair of golden gossamer wings flittering at her back.

"My, how your wings have grown since I have last seen you, my child." He murmured, his gaze becoming sad once more. "Time does not stop for anyone, no matter what you have done for life itself." Grandfather glanced up at the ceiling, watching sap slowly drip down the far side of the wall with his sad, hazel eyes. The girl followed his gaze to the dripping fluid, before tearing her eyes off of it and back up at Grandfather.

"What do you mean, Grandfather?" The fae girl finally spoke. Her voice was extremely high-pitched, like a bird's cry. Grandfather shook his head.

"Do not trouble your young mind over it. I will explain it to you when you get older. Alright?" The girl nodded. "Now, back to that story, yes?" The girl nodded a second time. "Good."

Grandfather repositioned himself in his wooden chair, and let out a sigh. "Now, the dragons are powerful, productive, and once-terrible creatures. During the Dark Ages, they roamed the world in groups that they called Clans, or Fylís. Each of the Fylís controlled a country in Fotiá and ruled them with an iron talon. They never showed mercy. Fire rained down on cities that resisted the Draconic Rule, and numerous fae-folk died."

The fae girl shivered and clung to Grandfather's tattered tunic made of oak leaves and silk. Her sharp nails bore into the already mangled article of clothing that the old man wore. This action caused the old faerie to wince, but he did not pry the terrified young girl off of him. Instead, Grandfather gently stroked her head and her back to soothe her.

"I am sorry that I frightened you, my granddaughter." He reached up and ran his fingers through his long, silvery hair that appeared to look like spider silk. "But do not fret, Elafína. You did not let me get to the next part of the tale. You see, the violent Dragon Queen Agnetha, after her savage reign of death and terror, disappeared. With her disappearance came relief, comfort, and another ruler of the dragons."

Elafina turned her scared gaze back up at her grandfather. "A-Another one? What happened? What happened?"

Grandfather laughed, amused by his granddaughter's enthusiasm. "Settle down, my dear. I am getting there." With that, he began to conclude the tale. "As Agnetha fell out of power. King Chronos rose to it. He was a dominant, powerful dragon Lord with scales as black as night and muscles bigger than a minotaur's body. Some believed that he could knock down mountains with a single roar, and destroy whole forests with one swipe of his tail. But his soul was not as black as his scales, no, his heart was as golden as Agnetha's crowns."

The fae girl was intoxicated. Elafína leaned in a little bit more."C-Could Chronos really do all of those things, Grandfather?"

Grandfather laughed again, his large, light brown wings fluttering a little as he did. The skin near his eyes seemed to crinkle a little when he smiled. "I highly doubt it, my dear child. But what he could do with his terrifying power was close to that level. Either way, he wiped the discord and chaos from the face of the land and restored Fotiá to its former glory—how it was before the Dark Ages. And that's how it stayed to this day." He finished with another smile.