Sunset had arrived, it was time for dinner. Fortunately the area had plenty of natural resources so James had plenty of options. The kids he had picked up had grown to like him and that was good considering the fact that they would be living together for a while.

"Hey mister James, when's dinner ready?" asked Anagan.

"In five more minutes, you have to cook fish carefully otherwise it will turn out terrible" said James as he smiled at him.

"Yeah Anagan, come on its that simple" laughed Gantlos.

"Then perhaps you wouldn't mind explaining to me the concepts of cooking fish?" asked Anagan.

As Gantlos pondered while having a sweatdrop on his head, Ogron came up to James since he was drawn to the delicious smell.

"I'm sure that this is new for you" said James.

"It is, we're so used to eating fruits or whatever it was that we could find. Its been a long time since we've had something cooked to eat" said Ogron.

"I bet, well its done now. Let's eat shall we?" asked James.

For now, they all had fish from the nearby river thanks to James and he was fast enough to prevent them from escaping. Once this area has been explored further, perhaps more resources will be revealed and made clear to everyone.

Next day

"Ogron, I'll be running into town. Want me to get anything for you and the others?" asked James.

"No not really, we aren't that picky" said Ogron.

"I see, well I'm off" said James as he headed off into town.

As Ogron watched James walk off, he remembered what happened yesterday. Duman and Gantlos were successful in making James talk about himself and he heard everything.

"I think your situation sounds pretty bad, maybe slightly worse than us" said Duman.

"Oh no you guys had it worse, there's nothing in the world that can compare to losing your parents at such a young age. Still, my situation has its ups and downs" said James.

After shooing a fly away, he quickly helped himself to seconds.

"Its true and I won't deny it, it did hurt to find out why the fairies were so aggressive towards me. It hurt even more since I was once on the receiving end of their might and I was still...around your age. The world as we know...it is divided into two parts, where the strong rule and where the weak serve" said James.

As James began chewing on his rice, he continued talking.

"Magic in any world or place is considered legendary, each has its own properties that sets them apart from the others. I guess you can say that this is the universe's way of balancing things, we guys are naturally always the strong alpha males and our strength was feared...but we may have also scared the girls away. So how do you fight against might? With magic, with it...the girls were able to push their opponents away and became feared in their own right. In more than one ways, magic is always superior to pure might because it affects the area around them and their opponents at the same time. Might is just brute force and you can't fight against the opposition of something that can hit you from all around" said James.

"But you've got magic mister so you can do it too" said Anagan.

"While that is true, I am limited in what I can do Anagan. Do you know why fairies are able to do so much more? Its not because their magic is stronger, its not because of what each of portions of magic can do either. Its because of a neat trick that they have and its unique to them. Its called transformations, they're levels or ranks that a fairy can obtain through various ways. Each of these mysterious transformations brings with it a unique ability, some like the ones called enchantix enable fairies to break dark spells and heal others...in addition to making their magic stronger. Others like believix enables them to reach out to the people's hearts, connect themselves to their feelings" said James.

He soon put his chopsticks down and sighed.

"There is no right or wrong way of doing things but it just seems unfair...to me anyways...that the girls are able to do so much more, I want to help people like they do too. But the universe just had to go and make them even more overpowered and useful. Sooner or later my tradition will die out, the linage of warriors and wizards are on its last legs. If I don't do something, we'll all go extinct. But then again, who would miss us? We aren't that important, the things we do....the fairies can do better. The faster we run or fly, the fairies will move even faster thanks to their continuously improved wings" said James.

"But you must have done some notable things as well right?!" asked Ogron.

"Yes but in retrospect my opinion doesn't matter when a discussion is being held in a supreme court with all the fairies in full attendance. Even a single one of them is enough to make others change their minds, my sister did it once and this was what she said. We...the guardian fairies of your worlds urge you to reconsider this decision and make a better one based on what we have suggested. Its is these words alone that can change the course of history and alter things...possibly for the better. Ah.........alright, its getting late. Why don't you all get some rest? I'll clean up everything, its the least I can do...after what you've all gone through" said James.

"Seriously? Now you're done telling us stories? What is it about you that people hate so much?" asked Gantlos.

"Look, its just.......sheesh. Did.......you know that guys were once considered unwelcomed because of our appearances? You see some people can change...their appearances thanks to their money and plastic surgery. Others used magic and its way cheaper. My being, who I am isn't something that I chose, its just....always there...whether I like it or not. Some people were just born unlucky, I'm one of them. I bring misfortune because of who I am, its very handy when I'm up against an opponent but the curse still remains and my aura drives people away. But girls have a different aura, you don't get intimidated by them at first sight...if they aren't covered in tattoos anyways....I have personal experience. Regardless the fact remains that everyone trusts them, always will be and always...must be" said James.

"I'm sorry I asked...." said Gantlos.

"No its fine, curiosity is a part of who we are and its what makes us alive. But I'm fortunate enough that not all of the fairies are like this, I could see it in her eyes. There was one other fairy I had encountered before I became friends with all them and she tried to change things for the better...but was unsuccessful. Her name is Jillian and.....to be honest I'm just not too sure how I should approach her. That's why every time she visits my sister back home, every time she greets me.....I just wave back and move somewhere else" said James.

As James moved to clear the dishes, that's where Ogron's flashback ended. He slowly walked back into the house where he saw his brothers playing with wooden toys that James had created for them.

Town

As always the village was bustling with life, the villages like to call this particular area their miniature town since it was akin to one. The villages all greeted him with warmth, they even asked if he would consider staying and become a permanent resident here.

James was soon the market area and he was fortunate that the villages were kind enough to give him small donations of their merchandises for him to try out and he was forever grateful for their kindness.

He decided to explore the place a little bit and he soon came across some children. Kneeling down, he couldn't help but follow the villager's examples. He passed them a portion of what the villagers had given him and the children all smiled happily.

"Its not often we get kind strangers here" said an elderly voice.

Looking behind the children, James could see an old man smiling at him and he was balancing himself on a cane. James quickly walked towards him and addressed him.

"It just seems fitting, everyone here is so nice to me. I just had to follow their example" said James.

"I see...I see, hahaha! We need more young folks like you, the world is better off that way. Although my young friend, there's something about you that seems.....sad" said the old man.

"That's because its true, its like there are.........others that have greater lives than me. They have everything I've always wanted and more. But its forever out of my reach because I can't obtain it, not with who I am. Its like there's a greater power out there that's controlling my life and deciding my outcome. The universe seems to enjoy torturing me to no end" said James.

"I must say young man that you seem to possess a wisdom that reaches far beyond your years, now I've encountered many good people here and even during my occasional travels. But there's something about you that I've never seen before, something in your eyes. I also sense that you hold a great deal of regret within your heart" said the old man.

"That's because I once did something terrible and I'm not even sure if what I've done to make up for it will ever be enough. I mean sure I can say that it was deserved but I went too far, that's why......I'm on a journey of redemption to make up for what I've done" said James.

"May I ask what is it that you've done and how you're planning on solving it?" asked the old man.

"I feel I can trust you but I'll make it short and simple. There were these people who had everything I've wanted and I envied them for it. But they were also prideful and arrogant. It seemed that the world needed them more than me....because of what they've said to me during one of my missions, at that point I just snapped and I couldn't take it anymore. I then did something that every girl feared but I took it to the extreme....the highest level, I surrendered to my inner darkness. I allowed my anger and frustration to take control and ever since then I've deeply regretted it.....even if it was righteous and deserved. Without light to keep me pure, I'm becoming evil and dangerous...the darkness is starting to grow and I'm...admittedly afraid. As for solving this problem, I'm just not sure what I should do....." said James.

"Fear is a part of who we are, it comes and goes. Its all in how you handle it young man, as for this darkness of which you speak.....maybe its time you confronted it head on and I know...people that can help" said the old man with a kind smile.

He then pointed behind James and said person turned around to be faced with a familiar sight. Right behind him, in the air were two fairies and they soon landed in the middle of the market. The villages immediately greeted them and they immediately gifted them with supplies as thanks.

"Ah............the Earth fairies" said James.

"Correct, now I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the fairies are the ones who've treated you badly and it was them you've punished? If that is the case, then its time for you to start over. Do things again from scratch and find a different way of dealing with them should they ever treat you badly. Knowing these two ladies, they'll probably head off for the beach area. Then they'll make their way back to their island, see if you can....change things for the better" said the old man.

Turning back to face him, James just nodded and thanked him. James then saw the fairies leaving once they've placed their items in their magical subspace and he quickly chased after them. He quickly created a clone to rush back and tell Ogron and the others of where he'll be going and also that he'll be back as soon as he can.

However unknown to James, the old man simply giggled to himself and smiled proudly at him before vanishing into thin air.

End of chapter