40 Thousand Years Ago

Lorelei happily tended over a tiny garden. Beads of sweat formed along her forehead. They left trails that led down her face, and finally dripped off her chin. Today was the day.

Although her outward appearance didn’t differ from the form she currently had in the present day, her eyes shone with a youthful and curious energy that her older self seemed to be missing. She wore a leaf shirt covering her chest, coupled with a short leaf skirt.

Lorelei took a few steps back from her garden and raised her arms, her palms facing the plants. With her eyes closed, she muttered words under her breath. Green light began to glow around her hands. After she fell silent, the light slowly died away but she kept her eyes shut tight. A few heartbeats later, she slowly opened her eyes. She let out a groan of disappointment at the results. Moss had overgrown the entire area she currently stood in. She sat on the ground defeated, her arms crossed over her chest. She heaved a heavy sigh, a pout forming on her face.

“Why can’t I get the hang of plant-based magic?” she asked herself, aggravated.

“I preferred the sound-based magic you used last night.” A voice said smoothly from behind her. Lorelei whipped around quickly. A man dressed in all black stood behind her. He leaned against a tree as he watched her. When he took a step forward a smirk stretched across his face as she flinched away from the movement. Lorelei felt a shiver down her spine.

“Y-you’re a reaper!” She gasped in fear. Lorelei trembled, but couldn’t seem to move. All the fairies in her tribe had warned her not to get involved with reapers. They seek only death.

“And you’re a fairy!” He exclaimed back to her with a delighted smile. Although he was a creature of Death, his eyes were warm and kind. “Well, at least I think you are.” The reaper took another step towards her, and Lorelei found herself still unable to move. He leaned in close to her so that their faces were only inches apart, “You don’t look like a fairy, but the magic I saw last night. That came from, no doubt,” he paused. His eyes were sultry, and Lorelei could feel her face warm up quickly. “A fairy.” Lorelei didn’t respond but studied his face carefully. Her heart raced, it was all she could hear.

“Do all reapers look like humans?” Lorelei asked with a shaky voice, studying his strong jaw and long brown hair.

“We can decide what we look like. So, I choose the body of one of my human lives.” He continued to smile at her, and Lorelei looked away uncomfortably. “Do I scare you, little fairy?”

“No!” Lorelei yelped as she crossed her arms in defiance.

“Then why are you trembling?” He asked. The smirk on his face intensified.

“I’ve heard about creatures like-” Her eyes scanned him, but when she realized she hesitated, she burst on, fiercer than before. “You. Reapers like you. You can’t be trusted.”

“Interesting.” He chuckled.

“What do you want?” Lorelei asked him roughly. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to meet the fairy that ignored my mark on the human tribe last night,” His expression softened as he gazed at her. His smirk turned into a small grin. “That’s you, if you couldn’t gather.”

“Your mark means death. Why would I pay heed to it? I wanted to save those people. So I did.” Lorelei argued back. She straightened her shoulders, her confidence building. “I will always protect the living. Even from creatures like you. Even from creatures like me.”

“At what cost?” Asked the reaper. His teasing tone was replaced by a more serious one.

Lorelei just stared back at him. Her confidence was suddenly replaced by a wave of confusion, “What do you mean?”

“At the very base of magic, you have the rule of equal exchange. To get you must give first. To perform magic at that caliber, you can’t imagine the cost some have had to pay.” He stared into the distance and Lorelei could swear she saw a flicker of something in his eyes. When he looked back down their eyes met for a brief moment before they both looked away. “You’re either crazy lucky or crazy powerful to have been able to pull that off.” His mouth twitched up into a quick grin. “I’m betting a little bit of both, honestly.”

She looked him up and down hesitantly before she spoke. “I’m… You’re right. I’m a little bit of both. You see, I’m different. I thought you knew that, you’ve already said. I don’t look like a fairy because…” Lorelei hesitated, her cheeks grew bright red as she stuttered out. “I am not really a fairy.” She studied his face, but the reaper just appeared to be impatient by her lack of information. Lorelei sighed heavily. “I’m a Knight Fae,” she muttered.

The reaper’s face twisted slightly in confusion before it turned smug once more. “Ah, I thought so.” He muttered to himself before he addressed Lorelei again. “You say that you’re not a fairy.” He began. “But what you are, a Knight Fae… It has fairy in its name?” he asked, smirking at her. “From what I’ve, uh, heard from the stories, the Knight Fae were, and now I guess are still, just fairies with extra abilities. I don’t see how that means you just aren’t. Wherever you’re getting your information, pet-”

Lorelei’s cheeks had been growing redder and redder as he spoke. She rubbed them discreetly as she listened, but crossed her arms and decidedly interrupted him when he said the nickname. “Don’t call me that.” She said weakly. She refused to address the rest of what he said.

“Well, pet, how exactly can I address you when you haven’t honored me with your name?” He asked her, but she stayed silent.

He took a few steps back and sat against the tree. He crossed his arms, and they stared at each other in silence. After a few moments had passed, it became clear to him that she didn’t intend to speak. Instead, he spoke. “Have you heard of the Phoenix?”

“Yeah.” She replied, unsure, “The reaper that reincarnates the dead souls instead of killing them.” She hesitated before she went on. “I have been looking for him. I wanted to see him with my own eyes. See if it was really true. All of my… All of the Fairies told me it was just a myth. But what do they know? So many of them refuse to leave the dimension.”

The reaper grinned lazily at her and shrugged. “What are you going to do when you find him? Did you ever hear, you’re not supposed to meet your heroes? Or random people you decide one day to hunt down? They’re never as magical as you want them to be.”

Lorelei opened her mouth to reply, but then it hit her. She took a few steps back. “Wait.”

“Do I need to explain it, my lil’ fairy pet?” he singsonged, smiling giddily.

“You’re the Phoenix?” she asked, uncertainty. “Why would I believe you?”

“Well, I am old enough to know what a Knight Fae is,” he smirked. Lorelei’s expression dropped, and her heart began to race. “But I can prove it to you.” He leered at her, “if you really want me to.” Lorelei shook her head quickly, her mind spinning. He was one of Death’s first reapers. Not only that, but he was amongst the first humans.

“But I go by Nathaniel.” He suddenly said. Lorelei was snapped out of her train of thought by the sound of his voice. “So, can I know your name now?” This time he asked more sincerely and gave Lorelei a softer smile.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Lorelei fought back. Nathaniel stood up suddenly and walked up to her swiftly. He stood over her, and she cowered below him. He was inches from her face yet again.

“I understand the hesitation, but I cannot let a young fairy go around deciding when things can and cannot die.” His eyes were dangerous, but his tone was calm. Lorelei stared into his eyes. “I need to show you why death is important. I need to teach you, because for some unknown, unforgivable reason, nobody has bothered to.” He leaned back, away from her. “You can’t avoid this. All you can do is make it easier for the both of us. Or do you like it when I call you “Pet” that much?”

Lorelei suddenly felt annoyed and humiliated by his words. “My name is Lorelei,” she answered back. A wide grin spread across Nathaniel’s face.

“A temptress, huh?” He asked. “Maybe I should avoid you, instead of you avoiding me.” Lorelei stared at him, confused. He chuckled and turned away from her, “Let me call you Rory. Okay?”

“Then I am calling you Nathan,” Lorelei replied quickly, glaring at him. He turned around and looked at her. Instead of looking mad, he looked surprised, thrown, and just a little bit proud. He turned back around and kept walking.

“Let’s go, Rory,” he commanded lightly. “It’s time for your first lesson.” Lorelei reluctantly followed him. He led her into a small human village. They wove through the crowd. Lorelei’s gaze was dragged from place to place, but Nathaniel ignored the surrounding chaos. His gaze never wavered from in front of him as he walked forward.

They stopped in front of a large hut. It was by far the oldest and largest building in the village. Candles and flowers of all sorts of varieties and colors could be seen on almost all the surfaces inside. An old man lay in a bed in the main room with a swarm of people around him. The moment the old man saw Nathaniel, he smiled. “I knew…” He let out a ragged cough, then struggled to continue on. “I knew you would come for me.”

His wife, who was standing beside him, followed his gaze but saw only open air. “You must not talk like that. The village still needs you. I still need you!” She muffled a sob, but the tears still trailed down her cheeks.

He shook his head solemnly. “It’s past my time, my love. It’s been past my time. I’ll see you soon, in the next life.” With that he reached out towards Nathaniel. Nathaniel met him half-way, and when he grasped the old man’s hand Lorelei could see a burst of light in the air. She barely noted the old man collapsing back into his bed as she inhaled deeply. She could feel it all around her, life magic.

“What-” Lorelei began, but Nathaniel swiftly interrupted her as he, and in turn she, walked out of the building.

“When people speak of the balance, they can be talking about a number of things. The state of affairs between factions. The stability between each of the various dimensions. The most important one, however, exists between Life and Death.” They paused outside a graveyard. “Every living creature is created using the energy given off by either Life or Death. Some of the more complex creatures, such as witches and the humans, have both of their energies in them. Despite what some may think, these energies aren’t limitless. That’s where the reapers come in. We make sure that the flow of those energies stays steady. Even one life can tip the balance enough to throw the whole system into chaos.” Nathaniel knelt down to examine one of the gravestones, running one of his hands along the top. “When a creature’s life comes to an end, they expel all of the pent up energies inside of them. It returns to the cycle and is used to create something new. Then it’s the Reaper’s job to make sure that the leftover soul crosses over peacefully. What I do as the Phoenix is, instead of letting that energy escape, I take it and the soul and create something new with it. It’s both creation and rebirth.”

Lorelei had been listening silently until that point. Once Nathaniel paused, she rushed to say. “I don’t understand. I mean, they told me that Reapers can’t use Life magic.”

Nathaniel nodded as she spoke. “That’s one thing that they managed to teach you. I would be slightly impressed if it weren’t so pathetic.” He rolled his eyes at her scowl. “Their teachings, not you, Rory. But, yes, I can’t use Life magic. But what I do, it’s more directing it rather than using it. It’s not something for the novice reaper to toy around with. I’ve known several that tried but ultimately ended their existence in the process.”

“You’re talking around in circles, Nathaniel. Nathan.” She muttered to herself. “What does any of that have to do with the marking on that village?”

“The marking on that village, Pet.” He grinned as her scowl deepened. “Rory, it’s how we tell all the other creatures to back off. A human like that, surviving as long as he had. Do you know what kind of effect that can have on the balance?” He took in Lorelei’s blank expression before he continued. “The more a creature is around, the more energy they need to survive. Once they become a threat, only then do we place our mark.”

Lorelei hugged herself tightly. “They never told me any of that. They barely said anything about the Reapers. What I heard were mostly just rumors in the halls.” She cleared her throat before she continued, almost hesitantly. “I don’t trust you, but I need to learn. Will you show me? Continue to teach me?”