As James continued making his way towards the nearby village, he couldn't help but take in the view of the sea surrounding the island. It sure was peaceful, from the looks of it...the island he was standing on was a beach.

"I suppose it wouldn't be a stretch to say that this island is being used by the locals as a getaway spot" thought James amusingly as he continued on.

As soon as James approached the bridge, he passed by some young children who were playing tag. He could only smile, his childhood wasn't what you would call child-friendly and since he didn't have a lot of friends....considering who he was....it got pretty lonely. The closest thing to a friend he had was Daphne, since she was the only one who would play games with him.

After crossing the bridge, he could see the townsfolk all going about their business. Some of the villagers were friendly and greeted James as he made his way deeper into the town. They recognized him as a traveler and knew he needed supplies. So they tried to make him a deal but James politely refused and continued on.

Now James had a problem, he needed directions as well as some info about where he was. Entering a tavern, he quickly met up with the owner who happened to be an old man.

"Ah greetings sir, welcome to my fine tavern. How may I help you?" asked the owner.

"I would like some information and directions. Let's start with this place please" said James.

"Certainly, you are in a fine little town that is situated in Ireland. I promise you that the stew we make here is like nothing else you've ever tasted before" said the owner.

"I'll have to try that sometime, what else can you tell me?" asked James.

"Oh I can tell you a lot of things but I won't bore you with all of them, let's see......ah yes. There's another island that's connected through a bridge that we've built......" said the owner.

"Oh I know, that's where I was when I first came here" said James.

"Really? Anyways, that island is completely devoid of life as it is just made out of sand. Still that does make me wonder, how did you end up on that island? Were you washed ashore there?" asked the owner.

".........Yeah I was" lied James.

"Wow, may I ask where you came from then?" asked the owner.

"A far off place but my hometown has no name, sorry about that" said James.

"That's a little concerning, is it at least on the map?" asked the owner.

"No, I'm afraid it isn't" replied James.

"Well rest assured that you are always welcomed here in my tavern, I always treat my guests as if they were my family. Anyways just for your information, that island is our personal beach. Its the ideal location for things like swimming or even catching fresh fish. Its actually more suited the latter though" said the owner.

James nodded his head as he soaked up all of this information, now there was one more thing that he needed to confirm but he was a little afraid to ask. When he entered the village, he felt something. It felt like..........magic, not just any sort of magic.........it felt like fairy magic which was impossible.

"Hey um.........sir if you don't mind me asking, do you believe in fairies?" asked James.

"Oh ho ho! My young friend, I don't just believe in fairies.....I know them personally!" said the owner.

Now this truly shocked James, this old man just openly admitted that he knew some fairies? That's also another thing, there were fairies here on Earth as well?

"Now this may come as a surprise to an outsider like you but its not just a fact that the folks of Ireland believe in mythical creatures, no...can you keep a secret? Promise that you won't tell the rest of the world?" asked the owner.

As nodded his head, the owner smiled. Looking deep into James's eyes, he knew that this young man could be trusted.

"Listen well young one, while its true that the rest of Ireland believes in the existence of mythical creatures....we....the folks of this village have actually made contact with them. This dates back to the very beginning during the time of our ancestors, there was massive worldwide battle that shook the Earth. Once the dust settled, everything was devastated. As an act of apology, these gods....the ones that started this war sent down their divine agents to guard us and make sure that we remain safe. Among these agents were fairies...........and sadly they are the only ones still with us" said the owner.

James was deep in thought, this sounded very familiar to him. It soon dawned on him, now he remembered. This was the legendary battle for the elixir for immortality, the Earth got caught in the crossfire and was thus innocent.

He remembered now, there were fairies on Earth. Its just as the owner had said, they were among the many agents that were charged with defending the Earth at all costs. They did it in secret and only a few had made the choice of revealing themselves to the locals. Still, if the records were right..........it stated that the entire Earth had found out about their existence.

Now he was excited, this just made him want to explore Earth even more.

"While the many agents that had gave their lives in order to defend us may no longer exist now, we are still fortunate that the race of fairies still lives. Would you like to hear more about them?" asked the owner.

Keeping up his façade of not knowing anything, James nodded and sat down on a nearby chair.

"The fairies are a race of female warriors whose sole purpose was to combat the creatures of darkness and also protect their fellow men. They mainly rely on their magical powers to aid them in battle, which means that they are very often long range attackers. In fact, they rarely engage themselves in physical combat and if they do...they would make use of their enchanted weaponry which was lethal to many. Still, don't expect this too often as like I said...they are long range attackers" said the owner.

James knew what the owner meant, after all he was leading a team of fairies himself and not to mention he had his own experience with them. The main disadvantage of long range attackers was that should they fall victim to a powerful opponent that somehow managed to close the gap between them, it was the long range attacker that would usually lose the fight automatically. The proof of this was during his time on Solaria, the Savviers had completely overwhelmed the girls and then proceeded to have their way with them.

Which was why James made himself incredibly versatile, specializing himself in close, mid and long range combat. Due to his methods of training, he was also quite fast and in addition he was also a healer. Which was crucial in any team should they require medical attention.

"I see, do you think that there is a chance for me to see or even meet them?" asked James.

"You can see them but meeting them is another thing, if you want to try then be my guest. Return to the island that you washed ashore on, from there sail north. You should see an island there, it is called Tir Nan Og. It is the home of the Earth fairies but take caution for that place is heavily guarded and they don't take kindly to trespassers. This village also serves as their main place for gathering supplies and other rations. As they are constantly protecting us from threats, we don't charge them anything at all. You could wait I suppose and see if any of them would show up but I'd say going to their home island is the best option" said the owner.

"Hmm.....understood, in the meantime do you have any vacancies here?" asked James.

"Of course my young friend, for how many days will you be staying with us?" asked the owner.

"Um......for 3 days" replied James.

"Alright then, allow me to show you to your room" said the owner.

Later that night, James was staring at the celling. He was lying on his bed and he had to admit that it was quite comfy.

"I honestly don't know.....how long I'll be able maintain my presence here, I just hope for a month at the very least. Still, this revelation has peaked my interest. Who would have guessed that I would land in a hotspot for fairies? I'll take up the old man's offer and go to the island personally rather than waiting for them to show up" thought James.

Deciding that it was late, he blew out the lights and went to sleep. The idea of meeting magical creatures here on Earth was still fresh on his mind even as it continued drifting.

Next day

Upon stepping outside, James was instantly greeted with the warmth and brightness of the sun. This made him smile, he would welcome the light over the darkness anytime.

As he made his way back to the island, some crying had caught his attention. Turning to his left, in an alleyway between two houses were three kids in tears. One of them was standing above the other three but with a sad face as well. Soon the owner of one of the houses came out and yelled at them.

"You four again?! Scram! Get out of here!" shouted the woman.

Getting up quickly, the four kids ran away and they were headed towards the beach island. As they ran past the villagers, they all gave scornful looks at the kids.

Wondering what that was all about, James chased after the kids and he soon found them at the edge of the beach island staring at the ocean's waters.

Upon approaching them, they did not seem to recognize his presence.

".......Are you four ok?" asked James.

Upon hearing his voice, the four kids jumped away and looked at James in fear.

"We're sorry ok?! We'll leave if that's what you want!" shouted one of the kids.

"Whoa whoa, everybody calm down. I'm not going to hurt you" said James.

"That's what they all say!" said the same kid.

"Then.....allow me to be the first to prove it" said James as he produced 4 apples.

As James bent down and handed them the fruits, one by one the kids began munching on them.

"Now, could one of you explain what happened there? The people there seemed to really despise you four" said James.

"....We four are the last children from a tribe of bandits, believe us we were completely stunned. Our family was eventually cornered and then killed alongside the rest of our kind. Our mother was able to escape with us but our father died while he was protecting us, eventually our mother crawled her way towards the village and they immediately helped her. At first they assisted her but when she revealed the truth of who she was.........the entire town turned against her" said the kid.

Flashback

A woman ran through the forest with four children following closely beside her, she soon came across a lake. Looking at her own body, she knew that she couldn't keep herself alive for long. It wasn't long until she fell onto the ground, her children all surrounded her, begging her to stay alive.

Managing to raise her hands, she petted them on their heads.

"I'm so sorry....all of you, I tried to convince your father to abandon the tribe and run away in order to begin anew but I failed in doing so. And now.....I've brought you all into a painful world, I'm so very sorry" said the woman.

Refusing to accept this, the children began tugging their mother's clothing, trying to get her to move. But it was no use, she would soon reach the end of her life.

"I wish I could have seen you all grow up into fine young men.......but this is where it ends for me. Look out for each other, keep each other safe, do what you have to do in order to survive. Always eat your vegetables and fruits and keep each other clean at all times. One day, I know......we'll see each other again. But now is not your time, live.....live and see.......everything" said the woman before she passed.

The moment this happened, the four children began crying. They could not stop the tears, their cries echoed through the forest but the village didn't hear.

End flashback

James had a stoic look on his face as he looked at the crying kids, these four.......have endured something that is probably on par with what he went through during his childhood and the rest of his life.

He never lost his parents but he could easily feel what these kids were feeling, the pain of something like this will never go away easily. To add to this, he could easily understand what it was like to be judged based on who you were and where you came from.

With a small smile on his face, he brought all of the kids together and held them gently. As they continued sobbing, James knew what he had to do. It would take a while but it may turn out alright.

Upon releasing the kids, he asked for them to accompany him to the bridge. Once there, he told them to wait and he soon ran towards the village. It didn't take long for him to return and the kids were a little confused.

"What did you do?" asked one of the kids.

"I paid for my single night stay at the tavern and told the owner that I would be on my way. I also picked up......shall we say....some necessities. But for now, tell me...is it possible to get to this forest by sailing from here?" asked James.

"Sure, the river there is connected to the sea. We can show you the way" said another kid.

"Great, now....stand back all of you" said James.

As the children did as James had asked, they were amazed to see James conjuring up a tornado. The wind gently lifted both the children and James and they were soon traveling across the sea.

The kids were still stunned from this sudden twist but they were able to point James in the right direction and soon they were in the forest. Upon stepping on dry land, the kids had sad looks on their faces.

"Right here, this specific spot......was where our mother died. We saw the villagers tossing her body into the river.....I don't know where she is now" said one of the kids sadly.

The kid looked up the moment James knelt down while placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I may not look like it but I fully understand what you are going through, you weren't the only ones who had lost someone. All of my friends.....although few.......they all perished in battle and I miss them greatly. I can't replace your mother or father.......but I would like to at least provide you with the things you'll need in order to live a happy life" said James.

"Hey mister, that tornado you did. That was magic wasn't it? I thought only the fairies could do magic" said one of the kids.

"True but that's what you get when you become a wizard" said James.

"Wiz......ard? What's that?" asked the kids.

James could only giggle, this could take a while but he had plenty of time. At least he hoped he did.....for now though, James reached into his sub pocket and pulled out various things.

Among said things were large logs and the kids were speechless. They watched as James turned the logs into a medium sized house which even had a kitchen and a bathroom. For a light source, James was able to secure a lamp and he immediately lit it.

"Now, this will be our permanent home. By the way, I don't think I asked for your names yet" said James.

"He's Anagan and Gantlos, that's Duman and I'm called Ogron" said the kid.

End of chapter