Pel jumped from the open mouth of Berry’s Bottle like an Olympic diver, twisting and rolling through the air briefly before summoning his wings and leveling off. Flying is the best! He sincerely hoped it never got old. Flying lazy circles back upward past Berry’s he kept an eye out for other oddly shaped buildings since that seemed to be a good indicator so far for identifying places of business.

Thinking about the prior conversation just before he left Berry’s, he couldn’t help but notice now that there really did seem to be a large number of vacant houses, with maybe one in 4 or 5 having a curtain hanging over the doorway. It wasn’t like the entire interior wall within The Mother Tree was covered with houses, but each ring appeared to be sparsely populated.

Pel passed a building shaped like an ink pot with a pen sticking out the top, causing him to remember that Mat went home earlier to practice drawing. Curious, he flew back down to take a closer look. It was a cylindrical, three-story building with a flaring rooftop that looked like the opening to a pot. Sticking out at a 45-degree angle appeared to be a pen, or maybe a brush. Looking down from above Pel could see that the brush didn’t actually go into anything. The roof was concave, made from solid wood and the brush was just part of that.

Lights were coming from the windows on the front of the ink pot, and the curtained doorway spilled light out onto the mushroom doorstep outside. Pel landed on the doorstep, and after a brief moment called out, asking if anyone was there.

“Oh yes, come on in!” a feminine voice called out. That’s strange, she sounded old…

Parting the curtains revealed a small entryway that curved toward the right following the shape of the buildings outside wall. Four steps later Pel entered into the main area on the first floor of a circular room. All the surfaces within the room appeared to be made of gleaming white and grey marble. Intricately carved tables wrought from gold and topped with red velvet held fancy glass displays of small colored bottles. Other tables supported horizontal racks of wooden brushes and fancy looking fountain pens.

Pel felt the floor with his bare feet, noticing that it didn’t quite feel like actual marble. Marble would be colder than this. It felt more like walking onto a vinyl, or veneer type of flooring. Peering further around the room he noticed an elegant curving staircase beginning on the other side of the entryway, climbing up against the outer wall. The staircase led up through the ceiling and onto the second floor. Hung from the ceiling were strings of glowing orbs, which grew gradually larger until they reached the end of the string like a modern art style chandelier.

The pale-yellow light from the orbs reflected off the marble surfaces, and caused the golden tables to sparkle elegantly. This light feels refreshing. A Fairy, the oldest looking Fairy Pel had ever seen, stood hunched over a cane at the end of a marble countertop watching him with a smile. She looks every inch like the grandmother from every fairy tale ever, Pel thought. I have to know…

“Why do you look so old?” Pel asked bluntly, to which the old woman laughed softly.

“Two reasons, youngster,” the cheerful old woman said. “Firstly, because it’s fun! Looking normal all the time gets boring. Secondly, the Human who taught me how to draw and make inks looked like this, and it makes me happy to remember her from time to time.”

“I see,” said Pel, looking around the room again. “Is this really marble?”

“Not a single speck!” The woman tapped her cane against the floor, making a somewhat dull clacking sound. “It’s paint, lacquer, and Illusion magic!”

“What about the tables?” Pel asked.

“Not one flake of gold!” Using her cane again, the woman tapped the nearest table leg, making a sound like wood striking wood. “Just paints and illusions!”

“How do the illusions work?” Pel was curious, magic was just so fascinating. He couldn’t wait to get to Level 5.

“The floors, walls, and ceiling have a layer of Illusion magic coating them. It’s a spell I cast on the building called [Illusory Facade]. It makes any smooth, continuous surfaces look like whatever I want them to. The closer the surface appears to be to what my magic wants it to be the lower the Mana cost, and more realistic the effect. Hence the paints and lacquer,” the woman explained.

“As for the tables, that’s a spell I cast on you called [Deceptive Vision]. It’s more of a Glamor than an Illusion, which causes you to see specific objects differently than they truly are,” she said.

“When did you cast a spell on me?” Pel asked. I didn’t notice a damn thing!

“While you walked through the entry hall you passed through a web of magic which applied the spell,” the woman said. “It’s only natural that you didn’t notice, you’re practically a baby still!” she laughed. “Your Clarity Attribute is still pretty much at its base, right? Maybe in a hundred levels you’ll be able to tell!”

Damn, everything comes down to Levels and Attributes, Pel thought sourly. I need to focus on getting stronger, otherwise something will end up killing me and I won’t even see it coming!

“For what did you stop by this evening?” the woman asked.

“I was just curious about this building,” Pel told her. “It was shaped like an ink pot and brush, so I wanted to know what was inside.”

“This is my hobby, and my business I suppose,” the old woman said. “I make inks, paints, brushes and pens! If you need any painting or drawing supplies, you’ve come to the right place!”

“Maybe next time, I was just curious today,” Pel replied. “Thank you, though! Oh, I’m Apple by the way.” It hurts less every time…

“My name is Tisi, and this place is called the Ink Pot” she said. “Come back any time!”

Pel waved and walked out. Taking flight once more, he began to scan the distant buildings for other strange shapes. Suddenly the air shook as if a deep bass tone was played through a large speaker, but no sound was produced. What the hell was that?” Several seconds later it shook again. Is this what Mat said I’d feel? Is it time for the birthday party to begin already? Hundreds, thousands of Fairies began streaming upward past Pel, shouting and laughing along the way. It was like looking up through the eye of a tornado of lights and wings.

Pel joined the cloud rising through The Mother Tree, taking his place in the air just past the halfway point. In front of the gathered Fairies was the platform holding the...he didn’t actually know what it was called. Fairy Flower? Birthday Bud? Nah, Fairy Flower sounds better, Pel decided. It was currently closed, wrapped up with overlapping green leaves. Tina was already there, standing in the same position as when he first saw her last night. Holy shit, was that seriously only last night?

The vibration of the air was more pronounced this close and the frequency was picking up, almost like a heartbeat. Many bets were being placed as to which type of Fairy was going to be born tonight, the most common being Wind Fairy. Soon the vibrations were constant, with no pause between them, just a constant hum that could be felt, but not heard.

The leaves wrapping the flower twitched and the vibration suddenly stopped, much like the conversation around the platform. Everyone was silent now, eyes glued to the flower in anticipation. The leaves shifted again, and a pure white light streamed out of the top of the flower within. Several shouts of ‘Snow Fairy’ rang out, a few more shouts of ‘Called it!’, and ‘You say the same thing every night, it doesn’t count!’ were said before the general roar of conversation drowned out the individual words.

The leaves fell first, revealing a glowing white flower with many petals like a daisy. As the flower opened further more light spilled out, eventually revealing a Fairy standing in the center of an icy blue disc. Their skin was even whiter than Pel’s, with snow white hair styled in a perfect pixie cut. From his elevated position he was too far away to hear what Tina was saying as she made welcoming gestures toward the new arrival.

Soon after, Tina took the new Fairy into the air, flying through the stream upward toward the amphitheater. As the majority of those present turned into motes of light Pel paused, unsure of which ring he was supposed to sit on. It’s gotta be one of the empty rings in front, right? There were dozens of rings, many only occupied by a small handful of motes. Guess I’ll just take a seat in the first empty row?

In mote form, the amphitheater was enormous. Each ring seemed to stretch a hundred feet wide, and the two Fairies on stage appeared like giants. Trying to sit down felt like watching a gif infinitely zooming closer until finally he bumped up against the solid wooden surface. Just as he settled in, Tina clapped her hand and silenced the gathered crowd.

“Thank you, those who came tonight! As you know, we’ve gathered once again to celebrate the birth of another Fairy, and to welcome them to our family!” Tina announced. Just like the previous night, as if on repeat, the crowd cheered and whistled. The entire ceremony was rehashed, just like it must have been for hundreds of years. Taking her hand out of the pool, Tina turned back to the crowd and continued the performance.

“Our Mother has spoken! From today onward, our new family member’s name shall be…Nifadi!” Tina exclaimed. Once again, the crowd went wild. Pel clapped and cheered as well, caught up in the energy of everyone around him. This is much more enjoyable than being confused and standing in front of a bunch of strangers, he thought. Wait, how am I clapping with no hands?

Tina silenced the crowd once more and spoke, “Alright everyone! Now that The Naming is complete, it’s time for…The Nicknaming! The Mother Tree has given them the name Nifadi, but what nickname should we call them by?” Tina asked.

By the time the crowd exhausted the various permutations of this new name, a single response was shouted back by everyone present, Pel included.

“Alright then,” Tina said. “The Nickname has been decided. Please everyone, welcome Didi!” More cheering, clapping, and ‘Welcome homes!’ filled the air as Didi waved and smiled at the assembly.

As the Fairies began to depart in ones and twos Tina wrapped up the evening’s ceremony, “That concludes The Naming, and The Nicknaming! Which means…it’s time to party!”

Anyone who wasn’t already in the process of leaving gave a whoop or whistle as the stands near instantly cleared like the explosion of a rainbow grenade. Pel quickly popped out of mote form, shrinking the world around him by an order of magnitude and took to the air on golden wings.

“Hey Apple!” a familiar voice called out from somewhere in the disco riot. Was that…?

Mat approached through the air, wings fluttering so quickly that Pel could only make out a sky-blue blur behind his back.

“Hey Mat, how was drawing?” Pel asked.

“It was fun!” Mat exclaimed with a big smile. “What’cha doin’ tonight? Got any parties to check out?”

“No, not in particular,” Pel said. “I might just head to Berry’s Bottle for a few drinks. Why?”

“I’m headed to Hugo’s to meet up with Raki, remember him from this morning? Hugo makes the best food!” Mat said excitedly. Food? Huh, guess I haven’t eaten anything since being born. This should be good!

“Count me in, let's go!” Pel said enthusiastically. Gotta try out these taste buds on something other than alcohol!

Surprisingly, despite already being quite high up in The Mother Tree, Mat led Pel even further up. They eventually reached a point where all the houses looked more personalized than any Pel had seen below. I wonder if this is the permanent housing section? I’ve never been up this high.

The duo continued to climb until Mat veered off his ascending spiral path to cut across the open air in the center of The Mother Tree. In the distance, a building that looked like a large brick pizza oven grew out of the wall. The wood of the building was shaped like bricks, and nearly one entire side was open to the air. Dozens of tables filled the space, and were quickly being filled with groups of Fairies. The smell of food wafted out, making Pel’s mouth water. Floor to ceiling was four or five times his own height, and with the large opening in the outer wall the place felt more like a patio than the interior of a building.

Mat hovered in the air, head turning this way and that until he perked up and waved. Pel turned to follow Mat’s gaze and spotted Raki, the Wind Fairy from their watchtower team waving back from one of the restaurant tables. His light, teal colored tunic was only a few shades darker than his hair, with bright pink hibiscus flowers reminding Pel of a Hawaiian shirt.

Raki stood from his chair as the two landed, giving out hugs to both.

“Mat, Apple! Good to see you!” Raki said as all three Fairies took their seats. “Congratulations on your Level-up, Mat!”

“Thanks! I made a breakthrough with my [Water Ball] spell!” Mat replied happily.

“It must be nice, not having to touch a Voidstone to use your Mana,” Pel muttered. Raki winced, and Mat clenched and unclenched his hand absentmindedly.

“Yea, those are rough,” Mat said. “But I bet you’ll hit Level 5 in six or seven days if you work hard.”

“No, screw that,” Pel said. “I’m hitting Level 5 in three more days. I’d do it tomorrow if I could, just to not have to mess with that fucking stone again, but that’s probably asking too much.”

“Ha, even three days is asking too much,” Raki laughed.

“We don’t need sleep, right? I’ll just work, every hour, of every day,” Pel said determinedly. “That way, Ty will only make me use the Voidstone one more time.”

“What can I get’cha?” someone asked from behind Pel. Turning his head over his shoulder he spotted an orange apron wearing Fairy

“You wouldn’t happen to have any of Berry’s Honey Wine here, would you?” Pel asked.

“Nope, just ran out last night! But we have some of his Nutbrown Ale if you’d like?” the waitress replied.

“Yes please!” Raki and Mat said in unison, to which Pel just nodded his head in agreement.

The sound of wood scraping against wood caught Pel’s attention. On the far side of the open wall several Fairies were dragging tables across the floor, creating a semi-circle of open space.

“Yes!” Mat shouted. “Nia’s here!”

“Nia?” Pel questioned.

“She’s a Wind Fairy that specializes in air vibrations!” Raki took over. “Her music is amazing!”

“Plus,” Mat interrupted, “now that we have music, it’s officially a party!”

“Oooh, I see,” Pel said. “Now we’ll get experience for being here, right?”

“Yep!” Raki and Mat said together.

A Fairy with hair down her back all the way to her knees was setting up acorns the size of Pel’s head all around the cleared area. She was wearing a beige gown, nearly long enough to reach her ankles. Someone brought a three-legged stool, placing it in the center of the clearing.

“What’s up with the acorns?” Pel asked.

“They’re hollowed out,” Raki replied. “When she uses her wind magic on them, they vibrate and create specific tones.”

That’s actually pretty neat, Pel thought. Kinda like blowing into a bottle, I guess. The apron wearing waitress returned, setting down three wooden mugs topped with foam.

“Hugo’s just about ready to start serving, I’ll be back in a few!” she said before walking back toward the door Pel assumed led to the kitchen.

“Why volunteer to serve food and drinks?” Pel wondered aloud.

“It’s a good way to practice Dexterity and Charisma.” Mat responded. “Weaving through people, talking to patrons, carrying lots of stuff, it’s not as easy as you might think!”

Ah yes, the wonders of Food Service, Pel thought, taking a sip of the ale. It was creamy, and nutty, but not dark. Mat giggled, looking at Pel.

“What?” Pel asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“You have a foam mustache!” Mat laughed.

Using his tongue, Pel wiped the foam off his lip. A soft bass hum spread through the air, so gently at first Pel missed it. As the tone grew in volume, the root note was joined by its perfect fifth, and then the octave completed. The sound appeared to be coming from three of the acorns that Nia set up. She pulled out a pan flute and began to play short notes, quickly played like drops of water.

Her hair drifted on the vibrations of the air, almost like she was underwater, and a soft easter green aura shone from around her. As she played the pan flute, her magic swirled around the open space to touch various acorns, playing the bass notes to pair with her instrument. Pel tapped his toes to the jaunty tune, sipping his ale and enjoying the music until the waitress reappeared carrying three large plates.

“For tonight, Hugo made a rabbit dish, pan seared in sunflower oil, deglazed with white daisy wine and roasted with garlic and thyme. To go with the rabbit, Hugo prepared a sunflower polenta and a vegetable ratatouille baked in a garlic and bell pepper sauce. Please, enjoy!” the waitress said.

The smells coming from the plate brought a tear to Pel’s eye. I didn’t know Fairies ate meat, but I’m so glad they do!

The first bite was beyond heavenly. The rabbit was juicy, perfectly seasoned, and similar to chicken but much meatier, and with an earthy taste. A shiver traveled down Pel’s spine, and he closed his eyes to slowly savor every instant. He moaned in appreciation, unable to even conjure real words. The sunflower polenta was rich and creamy, while the ratatouille was succulent and slightly sweet.

Bless you, Hugo. Similar happy eating noises could be heard from Mat and Raki, but Pel wasn’t about to open his eyes and ruin the experience by adding another sense into the mix. Between the food, the music, and the ale the moment was perfect.

An unknown amount of time later, Pel scrapped the last remaining morsels from the plate and sat back with a contented sigh. Finally opening his eyes, he saw both Mat and Raki grinning at him.

“So?” They asked at the same time. They do that a lot… “How was it?”

“It was the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Pel said, patting his belly.

“Ha-ha, it’s the only thing you’ve ever eaten!” Mat laughed. “But Hugo really is the best. I heard most of the other chefs in The Mother Tree mentored under Hugo when they were new.”

At some point while Pel’s eyes were closed the waitress had brought another round of ale so he grabbed his mug and took a swig. Looking around the room he noted that most of the other tables had finished eating as well, and were now all sitting restlessly in their seats. Many were beginning to stand.

“Guess it’s about time,” Mat said, standing up as well. “Pel, help me with the table, Raki you grab the chairs.”

“What’s going on?” Pel asked.

“Everyone just ate, and we’ve got bellies full of dancing fuel,” Mat replied. “It’s time to party!”

Being too drunk to remember much of last night, Pel discovered that dancing with Fairies was a lot like being at the party version of a love child between a disco and a rave. Nia’s bass thrummed more loudly once the tables cleared, and someone showed up with a lute and some kind of windchimes that sounded an awful lot like an electronic piano. Pel’s body began to tingle pleasantly, and he couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or his metabolism passive kicking in, but it felt great and he wanted to DANCE!

The next morning Pel laid in bed, eyes closed, refusing to accept the morning for a few moments longer. Despite his insistence the night before that he would train hard and forego sleep, it was just so nice to lay down that he couldn’t help it. What a fucking night though! At some point during the party Pel had leveled up to Level 3. It felt good, one of the best things he’d ever felt. Like back-to-back energy drinks laced with a first kiss and the feeling of a hot shower hitting his back on a cold winter morning. He had immediately placed his Attribute Points into Vitality, and kept dancing. I can’t believe, even through the Birthday Brandy, I couldn’t remember that feeling.

Turning into a mote, Pel directly bypassed the struggle of extricating himself from the pillows and blankets. He took a sip of water from the basin before putting his pants and shirt back on. Sleeping in the buff is totally the way to go. Also, never having to relieve myself is amazing.

Pel walked through the flower curtain and onto his mushroom doorstep to perform a few morning stretches before diving off into the open air. Snapping his wings open after a couple seconds, he leveled off and flew toward the distant control watchtower in The Roots. He joined the stream of first shifters gathering for their morning briefing, spotting Gabby already standing on the mushroom cap.

Waiting for everyone to group up, Pel scanned the crowd for Mat, Raki, or one of the other Fairies from yesterday.

“Apple! Ri! Report to me!” Gabby commanded. What did I do? Pel thought.

Pel flew forward, meeting up with Party leader Ri half way. He was already armored up and snapped a fist over heart salute as they completed their approach, which Pel copied him.

“Same deal as yesterday,” Gabby informed them. “Apple is not to leave the tower under any circumstances short of it collapsing or catching fire.”

“Yes sir!” Ri responded loudly.

“Apple, Level 3 in two days, not bad,” Gabby judged. “Keep working hard.”

“Yes sir!” Pel copied Ri’s reply.

“Good, go back and wait for assignment,” Gabby said, clearly dismissing them.

Pel followed Ri back to the waiting crowd, joining up with Mat who was waving at them. Raki, Flo, and Liki soon arrived, just in time for Gabby to brief them on the news from the previous shift and to assign watchtowers. Pel’s team was assigned Q2-R2-T1, and when he asked Ri what it meant as they were enroute to the watchtower Ri explained that it meant ‘quadrant 2, ring 2, tower 1’.

The previous Party was interrupted in the middle of doing squats, which Ri decided would be their first exercise of the day since, “We shouldn’t leave an exercise unfinished.” The only difference between yesterday and today, was that Pel could do a few more repetitions of each exercise. Gaining a Level and two points to Vitality the night before had boosted his performance.

The only break in monotony was when Liki reported a distant watchtower alerting. Everyone grouped up around her window to peer out. Only the cap was visible over the roots at this distance, but everyone could see that it was glowing an angry red color.

“Everyone, pause exercises and keep watch. Conserve your Stamina.” Ri had said. “Keep a lookout for other alerts and get ready to move.”

The atmosphere was tense, with Ri constantly checking his armor and everyone else barely daring to breathe. Ten minutes later the mushroom changed color to green once more and everyone let out a collective sigh. With the danger passed, exercise duty was reinstated. Three hours into the shift Pel noticed a gently pulsing light in the corner of his vision. Focusing on it he saw a notification that he had obtained his first natural point in Vitality, bringing his total Attribute Score to 6, and his maximum Stamina to 37.

Ri was surprised he managed to unlock a natural point so soon, but Mat and Riki both assured him that Pel had done plenty of partying the night before. In fact, Pel had danced so much he ran out of Stamina twice, also confirming that running out of Stamina in a fight would most likely lead to death since he had collapsed on the spot and had been completely unable to move for several moments.

Pel was in the middle of doing jumping jacks when the second shift Party arrived, relieving them of duty. Ri led them back to the command watchtower, waiting for their turn to report in. All Parties from Quadrant 1 reported no issues.

“Quadrant 2, report!” Gabby shouted.

When it was Ri’s turn, he stepped forward from the pack of Party leaders and announced, “Q2-R2-T1, Party leader Ri, nothing to report!” On it went with each Party leader having nothing to report until 6 leaders later there was finally a deviation.

“Q2-R3-T3, Party leader Lasi, reporting activation of watchtower alert!” Lasi’s face was covered in dirt, or maybe soot. It was hard for Pel to differentiate from over 50 ‘Fairy feet’ away. Her red-orange hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her armor was splattered with mud.

“Watchtower Q2-R3-T3 alert was tracked back to a tunnel directly South by 5 meters. The Party entered the tunnel and encountered a pair of Dire Ant scouts 10 meters below the surface of the root system. We briefly engaged in combat during which nobody sustained injury. Defense was completed after I incinerated the corpses. Upon exiting I flagged the tunnel for further monitoring.” Lasi reported. “I’ve also reported the incident to the second shift Party leader, as well as the Party leaders in the surrounding watchtowers.”

“Excellent work, Party leader Lasi,” Gabby commended. “Anything else to report?”

“No sir!” Lasi responded, giving a salute.

The other watchtower Party leaders all had nothing to report.

“Everyone is dismissed!” Gabby shouted.

“Alright Apple, see you tomorrow!” Mat called, already flying off to visit Ty. Pel waved, secretly relieved to not have to go back today.

“Didi, Apple!” Tina’s voice called out through the crowd of quickly departing Fairies. Pel flew over to greet Tina, looking forward to finding out if he and Mat were right about getting a Fire Fairy mentor.

“Tina! Good to see you!” Pel said, giving her a hug.

“You too, Apple,” Tina said, letting go of the hug. “I didn’t see you at Berry’s last night!”

“Yea, Mat and I met up with Raki and had dinner at Hugo’s place,” he said.

“Oh, so you’ve already met Hugo?” Tina asked.

“Ha, no. I just ate his food!” Pel laughed. “Which was fantastic! I also leveled up at the party right after.”

“Ugh, yes! His food is the best in The Mother Tree! But, don’t tell anyone I picked a favorite! And congratulations on the Level!” Tina said. “Oh, this is Didi! Didi, this is Apple! He was born the night before you!”

Pel turned to greet Didi who was dressed in a long, white robe with purple snowflake patterns wrapped around their body and tied at the waist by a purple belt. Their eyes were a vivid, glacier blue which stood out against the pale skin and white hair.

“Alright,” Tina said after introductions were over, “Didi, you’ll follow me and I’ll take you to see your mentor. Apple, your mentor is actually Hugo! He’s a Fire Fairy!”

“Wait, I get to learn from Hugo?” Pel shouted excitedly. Will I get to eat his food every other day now?

“Yep! He already has two other mentees, but he agreed to take you as well.” Tina said. “You should probably head straight there; he gets pretty busy in a few hours.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Pel said excitedly. ‘Take care!”

Pel shot upward at his maximum 7 meters per second, wishing he had put his Level 3 points into Dexterity instead. Heh, Mat’s going to be so envious!