From where she walks, the section of the crowd around her instantly falls quiet. Even to those who have never met or seen Aura before, her appearance is famous and unmistakable; small (three and a half to four foot high at the most) and thin with porcelain white skin, white-blonde hair, intense blue eyes and a heart-shaped face. Divinity has kept her looking young, but in actuality she’s at least two million years old, if not even older. Her exact age is unknown, even to her, but it’s a well-known fact that she was the very first fairy in existence and is one of the oldest living creatures.
By the time she’s made her way to the centre of the crowd and climbed onto a rock so that all can see and hear her, the entire group is eerily quiet. Her discomfort is visible to see, but she isn’t physically shaking and seems to be doing a good job of mastering her enochlophobia, the phobia of crowds. Every face is upturned, waiting – waiting to be told what is happening and what to do. Joel was right. People don’t always need an outright leader, but they certainly need someone they can trust to give them guidance. Aura hopes that she still has enough support amongst the older generations to compensate for her lack of presence in recent years. As she gazes down at the people, she feels her fear beginning to ebb away to be replaced by a passionate fire – these people are innocent, and are being punished for nothing. They deserve the truth, and the truth is what she shall give them.
“Mallos has found a way to break his bonds,” she begins in a quiet but carrying voice. “The barrier is programmed against him, but not against magic. He has realised that he cannot break himself out but, if he can pass his magic onto another vessel, he can use it to weaken his bonds and eventually break them down altogether. But what would do as an adequate vessel, when he is alone in his prison cell?
“Rats.” Aura smiles grimly. “Rats inhabit every square inch of Shaman, and they will have infiltrated the Crystal Hall – where Mallos is being held – long ago. It would be simple for Mallos to inject a little magic into a rat and bribe it to pass through the barrier for him. As it went through the barrier, the magic in the rat would be pre-programmed to weaken it – just a little bit. It would be dangerous to weaken the barrier too much at once, but with enough rats and enough time, Mallos would be able to completely destroy his prison. I estimate it would take him seven rats over a period of at least several months.
“Rats are not like fairies; they cannot control magic in the same way we can if they are forced to uphold it. As they pass through the barrier, some of the rat’s magic will leak into Shaman and clash with the land. This is what happened today; Mallos’ first rat passed through the barrier, unleashing the first of seven curses onto our land. The long dormant volcano at Falcon Point reactivated and annihilated the entire territory. As we speak, the lava will already be sweeping through Shingle Brook and Midnight Shores. All three of these territories will be uninhabitable for an extended period of time, so the people who live in them will need to be rehomed elsewhere.”
She pauses for a moment, gazing out across the sea of silent faces. That covers all the facts, but what about the inspiration? She should really say something clever now – something uplifting to keep their spirits up. Aura’s normal method of rounding off a speech is to apologise for all the hurt she’s caused, but even she can sense that that isn’t what the people need to hear right now.
“Shaman survived the influx of the first generation, when the weapons of rape and murder and torture were first introduced.” She says slowly. “She survived the rise and the reign of Mallos and the thereafter power vacuum of the empty cave. She saw the sun rise and soon she must watch the sun set. Now, Shaman will survive the seven curses.”
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