Kieran

  Once Marissa had agreed to following the Fae, their nameplate popped up so the party would at least know they were following [Awsta]. Not that it mattered all that much, given Kieran had simply set Caoimhe to follow Hibiscus while he kept turning the camera this way and that.

  Kieran had gone through most of the dialogue options with [Scathach] during their little chat cutscene. While most of the information regarding the races wasn’t new - he had seen a lot of the background lore for each on various online forums - almost everything about the [Other World] and the [Seelie Court] was new.

  So much so, that he wondered if the devs really had put in any crumbs to lead players this way, or if they had deliberately scrubbed the information clean to surprise players at this point. It was rare that MMO players - especially lore mongers - ever missed anything like that. Hell, many popular games with more hidden lore had entire communities devoted to piecing the stories together.

  Mag Mell had never really had that sort of treatment because the story had always been pretty straightforward. Or at least it had been up to now, Kieran mused.

  While each of the playable races had some interesting lore and details built in; for instance, an Undine couldn’t breathe in the air, so they had a major ‘curse’ placed on the whole race. The curse allowed them to breath through the use of water magic which resulted in their bodies always being surrounded in water magic and essence, resulting in the way their hair ‘floated’.

  In retrospect, Kieran suspected such a ‘curse’ was probably placed by [áine].

  On one hand, the information that [Scathach] had on the [Other World] was unfortunately pretty sparse, but it was also all new, as was everything regarding the [Seelie Court]. On the other, it all felt fairly standard for a fae world, given what Kieran knew of classic fae myth.

  The [Other World] being high contrast with blown out colors was a fairly new representation for it, but it was a common one. The way they were warned of the Fae pulling tricks and generally being potentially dangerous if they weren’t careful was also a common trope, as was the way it was a part of their being, and not just acting malicious.

  The way [Scathach] had elaborated on the [Seelie Court] also fell in line with classic myth. The [Seelie Court] was typically made up of the ‘good’ faeries, or at least the ones who didn’t actively wish harm on others. Of course, their ‘tricks’ weren’t included as wishing harm on others.

  [Scathach] generally spoke of them positively, though it didn’t seem like she had much first-hand knowledge of them. She also seemed to have a favorable view of [áine], despite the whole [Aes Sídhe] debacle. Kieran figured that was probably fair, given most of the situation seemed to be the [Aes Sídhe’s] fault. [áine] seemed like a fairly good Queen, based on what they had heard so far.

  What [Scathach] did have a lot to say about was the [Unseelie Court]. While the [Seelie Court] was the main group of “good” faeries, the [Unseelie Court] was their “evil” counterpart. It consisted mostly of Fae that would attack people on sight and actively try to cause harm.

  [Scathach] had mentioned run-ins with them in the past, and she made them sound incredibly dangerous. While her interactions may have been biased, she had basically described psychopaths that simply wanted to hurt others any way they could.

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  Kieran allowed that the traditional myths didn’t have much good to say regarding the [Unseelie Court] either, though it most just consisted of faeries that were dangerous to people under any circumstance. Like how some fae were known for kidnapping children or abducting or killing travelers.

  [Scathach] had mentioned that running into the [Unseelie Court] had become less common in the last hundred years or so, but she still dreaded every interaction with the less scrupulous Fae. While Kieran wanted to check in with the lore folks online before he decided to think of it as a confirmed fact, putting a few of her different responses together had led him to think that her mastery over shadow had actually stemmed from an [Unseelie Court] attack that left her cursed, even.

  But what was really interesting to Kieran was something that didn’t add up for him between what [Scathach] had said and what Clan Nettle Tea had already played through.

  He had no doubt that [Bufon], the large battle-bear that they had fought, was potentially some kind of greater Fomorian. His understanding of Mag Mell’s lore had said that the higher ranking Fomorians were less and less monstrous compared to their lower ranking counterparts. And that had tracked so far with their experiences with the twisted monstrosities of Fomorians through the game so far.

  [Bufon] had probably been fairly high ranking as he was practically just a massive brown bear. More humanoid like, yes, but still very much a bear.

  It was [Regnu] that concerned Kieran, though. [Uathach] hadn’t had time to make a full report to her mother regarding what had happened in the enemy camp, beyond the most important bit regarding the papers and the enemy plans with the wyverns. Specifically, she hadn’t mentioned that she had fought an enemy Fae.

  [Regnu] may have been named in the paperwork, even, but Fae weren’t considered a part of the Fomorians. Without it being mentioned, [Scathach] would have just assumed he was just another Fomorian. It had bothered Kieran at the time that there was no dialogue option to mention the Fae to [Scathach] during their discussion, and as he thought more about it as they were led through [áine’s] palace it bothered him even more.

  Combined with some of the things that [Scathach] had said, he was growing increasingly concerned that the [Unseelie Court] was actively working with the Fomorians. And that would be incredibly dangerous for everyone - especially if they failed to get [áine] and the [Seelie Court] on their side during this envoy mission.

  Kieran was so wrapped up in his own considerations regarding the game’s story during their little walk that he had all but ignored the party’s chatter as they were led through the halls of the massive castle. But when Evan actually said his name, it pulled him back to the present.

  “What?”

  “Bro, we’ve been following this NPC for, like, five full minutes while he waxes poetic on the lore of this place and you’ve just been dead silent for five minutes,” Evan said, concerned. “Not to mention, you’re clearly on follow. Did you need to step away for a bit or something?”

  Kieran chuckled, “Nah, I’m good. Just thinking about the lore we got from Scathach.”

  “Ah.”

  “There was a lot in there, yeah,” Firo agreed. “I know it wasn’t all new stuff, but it was cool to get confirmation that the Corvus are directly related to the Morrigan. People have been saying that for ages, but the game has never confirmed it.”

  “How do you feel about the ability to maybe meet the goddess that basically created your whole race?” Nyx asked.

  “Kinda cool. I wonder if we’ll get there eventually.”

  “I imagine we will, but who’s to say.” Kieran said. “We’re clearly doing Fae stuff first, so I’m mostly focused on that.”

  “Makes sense, given where we’re at.” Jazz said.

  “What do you think [áine] is going to be like, Caoimhe?” Firo asked. “You seem like the one with the most mythological knowledge here.”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. áine is a traditional goddess of summer among other things, so I suppose she potentially fits the bill of a Faerie Queen. But putting Shakespeare’s Titania aside, there isn’t really a “Queen of the Fae” or the like in traditional myth. At least not beyond the idea of one, anyway. Like, one exists, but is never named or anything, I mean.” He said, tripping over the information a bit.

  “So, no descriptions or anything? Or what we should expect from her?” Nyx asked.

  “Not so much?” Kieran said, thinking about it. “She’s a goddess of the summer, wealth, and sometimes fertility, so a motherly figure wouldn’t be out of the question.”

  “Nice,” Evan said with a laugh.

  “That said,” Kieran continued, ignoring his friend, “I think in this case I would expect a somewhat more androgynous figure.” Kieran would have motioned toward [Awsta] if they were physically there in-person. “I think the Fae designs in the game typically trend one of two ways. You either get a Fae that is small and cute, in the vein of how I designed Caoimhe, or you get a striking and beautiful but androgynous look, more like Hibiscus.”

  Kieran thought back to the character creation screen, and what the presets looked like, and how most of them fell into one of the two broader categories. “I suppose that’s not to say you couldn’t have made a busty Fae or the like during character creation, and NPCs like that certainly do exist, but they are the exception, not the rule. I think.”

  “He’s right.” Firo agreed. “I don’t pay attention to a ton of NPCs, but the Fae designs are pretty striking in that way. They definitely typically fall into those two categories.”

  “Do they? I never noticed.” Jazz said.

  “It’s not exactly rare for the portrayal of the fae to do some weird things with gender,” Kieran said, shrugging. “Not always, mind you, and there are a ton of classic fae that are basically just naked men or women - although that’s usually been the case for nature spirits around the world - but fae are showing up increasingly genderless in fiction these days. It’s not a hugely new thing.”

  “Not to say they aren’t attractive,” Evie said, as if she wanted to clarify something about the statement.

  “Not at all. Even when they’re portrayed as genderless or androgynous, they’re usually said to be stunningly gorgeous, so…” Kieran added, but trailed off as their guide seemed to be stopping, finally. They were outside a crisp, white door that looked like it was made out of a single piece of clean white marble, or perhaps a very white alabaster. It was carved very nicely, but not so much that it stood out against the other doors they had passed in their walk.

  [Awsta] turned in the air to address the party. “Here we are. This door leads to an antechamber where you will wait until you are summoned by the Queen.” They waved a hand toward the door, and it swung open without any physical interaction. “There should be enough chairs for all of you inside while you wait. If you need anything else, you’ll just have to manage on your own.”

  [Awsta] sighed dramatically before turning away and gliding off down the hall. While it wasn’t subtitled with text, Kieran could clearly hear the NPC muttering about the “damned wingless idiots” and the extra work he was being forced to do.

  The party flowed into the antechamber, and the white doors closed behind them automatically. There were, indeed, eight chairs arranged awkwardly around the room. They were facing different directions and weren’t arranged in any notable way, as if whoever had brought them into the room had simply dropped each one wherever they felt like it, and walked away again.

  Two of them were even just knocked over on the floor, and needed to be interacted with to sit them back up-right.

  Kieran wasn’t sure if it was because the Fae didn’t use chairs to relax for whatever reason, or if the disorganized furniture set up for them was supposed to be some kind of slight against them in the lore.

  The room itself was also eerily white. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all the same white material the door had been, even the chairs scattered about seemed to match. The walls were lightly decorated with a similar carving or etching, which gave the walls at least a little texture rather than a blank, empty room. It was still immensely unnerving, however.

  Either way, their party scattered about the room. There were a few chairs that had been usable enough in such a way that if three party members sat in them, everyone else could stand around in a fairly neat circle - and they did that. Evie, Mello, and Firo took the seats, while the rest stood.

  Everyone started clicking through random emotes. Caoimhe pulled out a book from nowhere and read quietly. Firo did the same. Nyx was playing with a knife, tossing it around with a flourish, while Mellody played idly with a harp. Fiona was playing dead on the floor, sprawled out comically while Aleister had gotten out a broom and was sweeping up around Fiona’s body.

  “So…what’s the plan here, exactly?” Firo asked. “Do we just wait?”

  “I think so? I’m admittedly not sure why they would make us sit here, but alas. Here we are, stuck in a white room, with white furniture…” Nyx said. “I look so out of place.”

  “We all do. None of us are wearing white.” Evie said.

  “I guess we didn’t get the memo.” Evan said, leaving Fiona on the ground.

  “Only Bisky and Caoimhe fit in anyway. And even then, that NPC called the lot of us a name, anyway.” Jazz said.

  “Wingless.” Firo said. “That’s what the NPC said.”

  “Yeah, that tracks. I wonder if the Other World Fae hold a grudge against the Aes Sídhe?” Kieran asked.

  “Well, it sounds like they do. Hopefully áine is more accepting.”

  “She’s been in relatively friendly contact with the Dagda, right? Surely she shouldn’t be unreasonable, at least. I don’t expect her to like us though.” Marissa said.

  “Same,” Kieran said, “I expect her to be a bit holier-than-thou probably. And maybe a little resentful.”

  Jazz scoffed. “Bro, it’s a game. I expect one way or another, this will go in our favor. Or at least get us a fight with the Queen to prove ourselves. I’m not sure why you’re all worried about how the lore fits in with all this.”

  “That’s…not a terrible point.” Ash said. “None of us have gone looking online about anything, so we still don’t really have anything confirmed as to how progression works here. We’re talking like this game world is alive because the devs have a tendency to surprise us, but we might be expecting too much of them on this one.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Kieran said, thinking about it. And Ash was right, no matter how they all felt about it. Expecting a game - and an MMO, no less - to really adapt to a group’s choices would already be a huge stretch. But knowing that the game didn’t require a single party to remain together through the whole raid made the whole thing feel somewhat impossible.

  “Now then, where the hell is the NPC that lets us out of here?”