Zilean Visits The Faeries

      Zilean, an older Pirate Krawk and an eccentric sorcerer who calls a clock tower his home, had always had an obsession with time travel. After countless years and failed attempts, he was finally successful at designing an enchantment that made it possible to travel in time. The enchantment took the form of a glowing orb that emitted a green smoke so thick it could fill your lungs. All Zilean had to do was close his eyes, imagine where and when he wanted to go, reach out, and touch the orb. In theory, it was simple enough, however, it was not without consequences. His purpose for designing the enchantment was to prevent battles before they began, help people before harm came to them, and save lives. Sadly, even with limitless time traveling abilities at his disposal, Zilean is unable to change the events of the past. On top of that, time travel came with the unforeseen side effect of repeating the same day over and over again. Whenever Zilean finishes an adventure, he is violently yanked into a whirlwind, spinning through time, until he finally lands back in his clock tower only to repeat the same day that he designed the enchantment once more. This is Zilean's journal. It tells of his adventures in time travel, so while the dates are out of linear order for the reader, they are as they happened for him.

      13th day of Storing, Y17 - 5:45pm NST

      The gentle Autumn breeze floated through the window of the clock tower as I worked to repair an old pocket watch. Most would consider the watch to be a lost cause, but it possessed sentimental value to me, and I would not give up on it. As I rotated a cog to the right, the watch slipped from my grasp, fell to the floor, and scattered into pieces. With a long, deep sigh, I bent down to the floor to gather the pieces into a small basket. I still refused to give up on the thing, but my frustration got the best of me in that moment, and I needed a break. As a leaf, turned red by the touch of Autumn, came through the window, my mind drifted to thinking of air faeries. It had been ages since I had seen an air faerie with my own eyes, and I longed to see them once more. That sparked an idea in me, and I glanced over to the orb floating in the corner of the clock tower. I had just designed the enchantment this morning, and although it was untested, I believed it would allow me to travel in time. Green smoke still emitted from it, and I hoped that meant that an adventure was on the books for today! A smile filled my face as I crossed the room, closed my eyes, reached out for the orb.

      14th day of Sleeping, Y2 - time unknown

      When I opened my eyes, I immediately felt the harsh cold chill of the winter air and began to shiver. Note to self: I must remember to wear proper clothing when I travel to different climates. As an icy blast of wind beat across my face, I was tempted to go back to the warmth of my clock tower and save this adventure for another day. While pondering what to do, I looked to the sky and saw the most beautiful sight that my aging eyes had seen in quite some time. With locks of golden hair, a delicate light blue gown that would easily touch the floor, and shimmering wings that blended into the whites and blues of the clouds, the air faerie was incredible. She smiled down at me as she flew well above my head and continued on her way to wherever her destination was that day. In those brief moments, I forgot all about how cold I was or how much I missed my clock tower. I was simply happy. Unfortunately, once I could no longer see her, reality came crashing back down on me, and I was left sad and freezing again. It was then that I decided to push past everything I was feeling and follow the faerie, desperate to feel happy even if for just a moment. I began to run in the direction she flew away in, my body creaking and snapping as my legs hit the ground again and again. My body may not be what it once was, but that didn't mean that I didn't still have some jump in my step.

      Perhaps I overestimated how agile I was, because within ten minutes, I found myself face down on the ground. I could blame the log that was hidden underneath the snow that blanketed the ground, but the truth is that in my eagerness, I just wasn't paying attention as my leg caught the front of it. If I was freezing before, I was fully frozen at this point with my face and body covered in snow. I was about to admit that I wasn't up for this adventure when the snow on me suddenly melted and a burst of warmth filled me. An orange glow was all I saw at first as I slowly began to open my eyes. When I could fully see, I discovered the source of the warmth and the glow. Her hair was golden with hints of orange, and she wore a flowing gown that matched her hair down to the tiniest of details. The most eye-catching of all was her wings, which expanded well beyond her thin frame, matching her hair and gown perfectly. She smiled patiently at me as I regained my footing. Cautiously, I took a step towards her, extending my hand to introduce myself and thank her for her kindness. She must have been afraid, because she flew away as I tried to approach her.

      The warmth lingered throughout my body as I continued my journey in the direction the air faerie had flown, preceding with patience this time to avoid another mishap. As the grey sky darkened into a starless black night, I could not go on any longer without a source of light to guide me on my way. Spotting a tree, leafless in the winter weather, I broke two small branches from it so I could rub them together to create some sort of torch. Seconds after the snap of the branches disconnecting from the tree, another faerie appeared in front of me. She had deep brown hair, small mint green wings, and a matching long-sleeved dress that rested just above her knees. As I looked her in the eyes, she extended her right arm towards me and held her hand out, palm facing me in a motion that indicated to stop. My face must have had the confusion I felt written all over it, because she looked down at the broken branches in my hand and shook her head back and forth, a look of deep sadness filling her eyes. Realization struck me, and I knew what she was trying to tell me. I had harmed the land that she clearly cared deeply for, and I must not do so again. I set the branches down on the snow and apologized to the faerie for what I had done. Accepting the sincere apology, she flew away silently and without any expression on her face.

      I felt truly awful for causing the faeries any kind of distress. I only wanted a glimpse of them, not to disturb or upset them in any way. Perhaps I was hasty in traveling back to meet them on the day they were first spotted. I accepted that I should have done my due research to understand them more before attempting to visit them, and I decided it was time to go home. Unfortunately, it was still pitch black out and since breaking any more branches was out of the question, I had no way of gaining a light source to find my way back. I decided that the only reasonable thing to do was to find shelter for the night and venture home in the morning. I don't know how long I stumbled around in the darkness before I finally spotted a small bright light in the distance. Believing it was someone's home, I continued towards it, hoping the occupants would be understanding of my situation and allow me to stay the night in their home. The light continued to grow, shining brighter and brighter the closer I got to it. When it grew the brightest, I stopped and searched for the source, soon realizing that it was not coming from any building. Hesitant, I looked straight into the light, blinking heavily as my eyes strained to stay open in the brightness, and stuttered a faint "hello" to whomever or whatever was out there. Within moments, I was face to face with the third faerie I had encountered on my adventure. She glowed as bright as the sun with golden strands of hair framing her face, a shining yellow gown gracing her body, and elegant golden wings extending from her back. She pointed back the direction I had come from and waved to motion me to follow her. Silently, we traveled together back to where I had entered this world, her glow providing me safe passage through the darkness. She waited with me as I closed my eyes, letting the whirlwind yank me around and around until I could no longer see her anymore.

      13th day of Storing, Y17 - 8:30am NST

      With a crash, I tumbled to the floor like a ragdoll. Once I regained my composure, I attempted to stand up, only to fall back down to the ground. Why was I dizzy? What had happened to me? Shaking my head, I slowly sat up, hesitant to try to stand up again so soon. I took in my surroundings and realized that I was in my clock tower. A glance at the calendar on the wall revealed the date to be the 13th day of Storing, Y17. What was I doing? Of course! I was working on designing an enchantment to allow me to travel in time. I had lost count of how many times I had failed at it, but I wasn't ready to give up hope. Someday, I would travel in time and change the world!

      The End.