Chapter 130: Belistra, The Fae Lands

Unlike Ilim and Darrod, the fae realm of Belistra does not have a negative connotation associated with it’s name.

Well… depending on who you ask, that is.

The Fae lands are said to be something of a paradise for the restless and the fun-loving.

Fae are beautiful creatures with very eclectic personalities. Male or female, they tend to attract quite a lot of attention.

They cannot lie, but they are known to play tricks on the unsuspecting and innocent. However, they are quite naive and airheaded themselves.

Many times, slavers would cross over into Belistra and woo a fae of their choosing. They spun some yarn about being powerful nobles with gobs of money, huge castles, and dozens upon dozens of servants.

Fae like nice, shiny things, and they like playing tricks on those who can’t fight back. The stories they are told are quite literally their dreams personified.

As a result, fae succumbing to human slavers is not about them being thrown into carriages and gagged. They often leave willingly.

It isn’t until the fae reach Komen that they become aware of the fact that they’ve been duped.

They are forced into confinement, have their powers forcibly suppressed, and are either sold or forced to live as captives.

True, they usually do end up staying within a noble house. However, they end up sleeping on bales of hay in cold dungeons rather than atop silk sheets with wine and grapes waiting nearby.

Multiple countries in Komen have taken harsh steps to crack down on the trafficking of fae, for fear of straining the relationship between the humans and the fae.

Though they are usually harmless when subdued, the fae’s talent for magic is extreme. They supercede humans by such a wide margin that it is embarrassing.

However, with Eirbane being the continent that the fae first arrive on, they are the ones who see the most pressure to break up the blockades. Just the same, they have other noble houses in their ear, promising generous rewards in exchange for doing nothing.

Emperor Jorre is a very hard-to-read man. His power only made him that much more enigmatic.

In certain seasons, he cracks down harder on houses suspected of trafficking. In others, he seems to turn a blind eye.

Neither his children nor his closest advisors ever really know what he is thinking.

This was one of the seasons where it seemed travel to the fae realm was much more heavily regulated.

There were many more guards stationed on duty. Captains and commanding officers, too.

They spoke to many of the fae who crossed, questioning them about how long they’d known the person they were travelling with, what their relationship was, and if they were aware of the trafficking problem.

Every so often, one could see guards stepping between a pairing and separating them, pointing their blades at the attempted slaver and telling them to beat it.

The Rift platform had always been largely regulated. Today was no different.

Underneath the midday sky, men and women of different races walked across bleached white stone. The platform was circular in design, and on its outskirts, one could see many stalls that were receiving no small amounts of attention.

Vendors this close to the rifts usually made quite a killing selling items freshly procured from other realms. From gems, to jewelry, to medicinal flowers, beast cores, and even street food.

Something that instantly piqued the interest of Nila and Dakota. As the four horsemen wandered through the crowds on horseback, the girls couldn’t resist whispering about their apparent hunger.

“Oooh… fairy dust churros…!”

“W-We didn’t eat breakfast… It won’t hurt to get a kabob or two, right..?”

Everett looked towards Solomon. He and Yari both shook their heads.

“Food from here is a definite no.”

“It is more disgusting than you realize.” Yari curled her lip beneath her veil.

“Tee-Tee, are you just saying that because your stomach can’t handle ethnic food?”

“N-No!” Yari almost shrieked and alerted the entire bazaar to their conversation. “I am saying that because of what Jiaoying told us! The empire charges an extortionate fee for those stalls to set up shop here. To cut costs, food vendors are known to fry their food in gutter oil.”

Everett gulped. “…Gutter… oil..?”

“It is exactly as it sounds.” Solomon added. “Restaurants around the city throw out their oil at night after closing. Street vendors scoop up what they can find and use it to fry their own food and sell it.”

Dakota and Nila turned green beneath their masks.

“…This place is most foul. We should destroy it immediately.”

“I agree.”

The sound of Solomon’s chuckling left his helmet as a slightly demonic sound.

He reached over and placed his hand on top of Dakota’s head.

“Fret not, sister. We will sate your appetite soon if you will only be patient.”

Surprise showed up on the faces of the other three horsemen.

This was the first time since Eir’Vael’s revelation that any of them had addressed each other by their blood ties. Somehow, it made everything that they had learned all the more real.

Beneath her mask, Dakota’s cheeks warmed adorably. “…En. I understand… brother.”

Despite the current warm mood between them, the attitude in the bazaar was noticeably different.

Everyone had noticed four masked knights on powerful, ferocious-looking horses travelling as one. The place had become noticeably quieter after they had arrived. All across the bazaar, people were naturally mesmerized.

This was the day that the legends of the horsemen first came about. But their actions in the days to come would cause these rumors to spread like wildfire…

–

Belistra was a land that never seemed to stop twinkling.

During the day, the sky was a bright, sensual pink. And yet, stars shone in the sky even at morning’s first light.

Life here was organically glamorous. The flora and fauna pulsed with their own inner glow, as if they had their very own heartbeat.

The air was undeniably sweet. Like the fragrant perfume of the fairest maiden.

When the horsemen and Yari appeared within the fae lands, they took special care to admire the sights.

The fae lands were as beautiful as the people who inhabited them. The entire realm had a cleanliness that could not be found within every corner of Komen.

Surprisingly enough, there were almost just as many humans and titan-bloods here as there were fae. No doubt due to the nature of their lifestyle.

Fae are avid partyers. They throw celebrations for just about anything. They also do not view relationships in quite the same regard as those in Komen do.

There is much less of a focus on… exclusivity.

For fae, a husband or a wife could be disloyal, and they wouldn’t bat an eye. But boring? An almost immediate ground for divorce.

Most feeble-minded humans who take up permanent residence here often ruin themselves. They pursue a beautiful fae, believing they have found their soul-mate, only to realize said soul-mate has around fifty other soul-mates.

Some become broken mentally and fly into murderous rages. Others take their own lives or develop addictions to alcohol and things of that nature.

Narcotic substances and most human poisons don’t necessarily work on fae. But they do give them a nice high.

One can stumble upon star powder here rather easily. Humans who attempt to… ’keep up’ usually meet rather unfortunate endings.

Solomon and the rest of the group looked around at the central city of Wick.

The sweet air carried with it humorous giggles from men, women, and children alike.

In Belistra, clothes are not always seen to be a necessity, so it wasn’t uncommon to see men or women walking around with their chests exposed.

Solomon could feel a certain prickly gaze in the back of his helmet. He grinned wolfishly.

“Something to say, my ruin?” His voice dripped with amusement.

Yari quickly turned her gaze away.

“Nothing at all… Just keeping a close eye on you, my young stallion.”

“Mmh?” Mercy turned his head toward her.

“Ah, not you, boy.” Yari tossed the horse a sugar cube for the misunderstanding.

“So…” Everett looked around. “Where exactly should we be headed? I’ve never been in the Fae lands before.”

“Do you not have some sort of homing instinct?” Nila questioned. “You are the prince of this place, no?”

“How daft can you be?! I just found out I was even related to this mystery lady last night! Why would I know where to find her!?”

“Oh, forgive me, little brother! It’s just that you’re so shit at everything else, I thought you might finally have some use for once! My mistake!”

“What did you just say to me, you piss-smelling man-beast!?”

“Guys…” Dakota said quietly.

“I do not smell of urine, you winged-turkey! If you sling such mud upon my name again, I will strip you naked and leave you in the street bound and gagged with the words free use tattooed upon your back!”

“Joke’s on you! I’m into that!”

“Makers’ bones, you’re disgusting!”

“Funny you should say that. I wonder if your would-be husband would still like you if he knew your morning body odor was worse than-”

“I will pluck your wings from you back, pretty boy!!”

*Clang! Clang!*

Both horsemen weakly rubbed their heads as they reeled from an unexpected assault.

“A-As I was saying…” Dakota put her scythe away before pointing in front of them, in the far distance. “I think we have to go there…”

Sitting atop a large mountain was a glorious crystal spire. More beautiful and exuberant than any castle in Komen.

Nila slowly turned to her sister, stunned.

“By Muria… Maybe you are the one with the homing instinct.”

“Or her eyes just work.” Everett rolled his eyes as Riot trotted forward.

“I wasn’t talking to you pussy breath.”

“Sorry for the mistake, she-beast. It’s hard to understand you when all of your intellect has long since been knocked loose in battle.”

“Guys, please…”

As the trio continued to walk forward, Solomon briefly stood in place with Yari.

With a thought, his helmet disappeared from his face. He looked back at Yari with a wide smile.

“Have I told you how much I like having siblings?”

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