The tree was huge. Its massive branches, that bent and twisted in intricate patterns dazzling and bewildering to the eye, were a blue the color of the night sky. Each leaf was a glowing ball of light, as if the stars themselves had come to take shelter upon the tree’s strong branches.

From far away, the dazzling lights that zipped and danced along the sweeping limbs may have looked like fireflies, until one realized that they were far to big to be anything insect-like. Indeed, while not nearly as tall as the humans whom they shared this planet with, the Faes were as tall as the average human’s arm. With wings that could put a butterfly to shame, they navigated their plant home with elegant ease, the small lights produced by the energy that was their life force making the tree look like a bee’s hive of magical flying creatures.

Naya swept onto one of the branches. There was a tired droop to her wings which did not encumber her elegance the least bit, but rather made her look like a swan coming gracefully to rest after a long journey. Her dress was of the lightest blue of a summer sky, her hair color indiscernible because of the radiance produced by the stars she wore in her hair like precious gems. Her blue eyes glanced up at the soft sound of her childhood friend, Tal, approaching.

“It’s getting worse,” Naya told her friend gravely, “Much worse.” She turned around to gaze sadly at the grassy plain surrounding her glowing home. Once they had been able to soar like birds to whatever spot on the Earth they had wanted, free as the wind to go where ever they pleased.

But they had forgotten about those grounded creatures, those without magic or power. And it would be their end.

When Naya closed her eyes she could still feel the energy rushing through her like a heartbeat, the energy that kept her – and all of her fellow Faes – alive. Being Space Faes, their power was fed by the stars and moons littered throughout the Earth, as common as rocks. The energy supplied by these celestial objects was their life-energy, and they thrived.

Until now. A strange ground-creature was destroying the stars and moons scattered throughout the lands to make room for settlements and villages. And slowly with the stars and moons, the Faes’ life energy had decreased as well.

The power that had once propelled them through the heavens like restless birds was barely sufficient for flying from one side of the tree to the other. And more were being destroyed every day.

Naya’s fist tightened despite herself. When the council had first realized that the celestial objects were being destroyed, she had been among the first to demand all out war, Tal right by her side. The ground-huggers had a right to expand, but not at the cost of Fae lives! This was an attack on their people, and they had to defend themselves or risk annihilation.

But was not so clear to the Council of Guardians, whom the years of peace and prosperity had weakened. Why not wait? How far can the ground-huggers expand? They only have so many people. Surely they will stop before they reach anywhere near being a threat to us. And Tal and Naya, being merely young Faes and not part of the Council at all, had to comply.

But the ground-huggers – they had a name, the Heulens – had not stopped. There was always more children, more families that needed homes, and slowly they worked their way closer and closer to the tree, weakening and weakening the Faes.

Her eyes tightened. And by the time the Council had conceded that the time for waiting was over, it was too late – the Faes were too weak to so much as fly constantly, let alone battle.

And now, the energy that had once flowed like a wildfire through them, giving them the power to bring down the heavens and fly in mind-boggling circles around the dumb Heulens was fading – and they were powerless to stop it.

Naya felt like a cornered badger. All she wanted to do was fight, and yet that was denied; all she wanted to do was run, and yet that too was impossible; all she wanted to do was . . . was . . . to survive. But not just survive, she wanted to thrive again as they had once done, she wanted to feel the wind beneath her elegant wings, to feel the breeze gently touch her face fingers gently trying to tag her.

And yet the truth of the matter was, they would never be that way again. The energy was their life source; as it faded so did their life. Already children were being still-born, the energy they took with them when leaving their mother not sufficient to keep them alive in the world for more than a few seconds. Older Faes had died attempting flights that would normally have taken them a few seconds, not anticipating that there was not enough energy in their elderly bodies to support both flying and life. How long until all of them became weak as new-born kittens, not even able to fly from branch to branch? How long until the Heulens came with their axes right up to the tree itself? Would there be Faes in the tree to greet them? Or would there be no Space Faes at all?

“You are wanted by the Council,” Tal said cautiously, sensing her dark mood.

She looked up in surprise. Ever since that unsuccessful rally for war so many years ago, the Council had not wanted to speak to her, perhaps trying to avoid another protest. They needn’t worry, she thought bitterly, it’s too late now anyway.

“Any idea what they want?” she asked, starting to walk towards the door hewn into the tree.

Tal shook his head and joined her. The doors located throughout the enormous tree led to a labyrinth of rooms and corridors. All the Space Faes lived inside this gigantic warren, and had always. The rooms had been carved using energy long ago, and since then the floor had worn down from generations of Faes walking along the exact same corridors. The corridors were a midnight-blue; not just the walls, but the very air seemed to absorb the dark color, giving one the feeling of stepping into a tube of night, the walls barely visible. The natural light from the Faes cut through the milky darkness like a knife, the murky blue retreating at their approach. Gently Naya ran her fingers among the carvings along the wall, feeling the eddies and curves of a wood made soft by hundreds of Fae hands. They were in no particular pattern, but were more as if the creator had simply swept energy along it and the tree had taken over. Stars, moons, all sorts of unimaginable geometric shapes represented the rich heritage of the Faes. To humans, it would have seemed like senseless scribbling. To the Faes, it was a masterpiece that sang to the soul.

Naya left the corridor and entered into the main Council room. The room was dome-shaped, although you would never have known just looking at it. The strange effect the tree had on distance was evident here, making it seem as though you were standing in the middle of a vast universe, endless darkness on either side, instead of a small room in the middle of a tree. Naya’s wings stirred uncomfortably as she faced the measuring glances of the Council members. There were seven altogether, and the current leader of the Fae, Adalia. For some reason she felt as though she could not meet those strict glances, and she gazed at her feet. How had she ever found the courage to stand up to them?

“Welcome, young Naya,” Dermin, the oldest of them except for Adalia, said. “We come to ask for your help.”

Help? Hah, if they wanted her help they would have taken her advice long ago. The question was, what did they really want?

A young Fae with wide, fearful eyes stepped up. Synthia was one of those twits who had followed the Council wherever they went. When the Council said “Fly,” she said, “To where?” Being Adalia’s secretary, she had been a main component in giving Naya a firm, “No,” in the argument over whether to declare war or not. Naya remembered her as a Fae whose mouth was always in a sneer. But today, her eyes were wide and fearful, and she looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment. In her hands was a cloak-bound object, which she was carrying like a baby.

“A-Adalia is d-dead,” she said, a small tear trickling down her cheek. “S-She went to check on the state of our power source last night. She has not returned. This was found some distance away from the tree, near the Heulens.” She unraveled the blanket to reveal a large rod at least as tall she was. It was deep blue at first glance, but shimmered into different shades of blue the more you looked at it, like an ever-changing ocean. At the top was a large crystal ball, the color of storm clouds, giving off a faint radiance like pool reflecting moonlight.

Naya’s breath caught in surprise. The staff was the largest holder of Fae magic ever discovered; even the graceful tree that was their home did not hold so much power. The smoothed staff showed where generations of Fae leaders had held it in their hands, using its energy to command all sorts of things. It was what had shaped the tree, and that in itself was enough to cause fear and awe among the Faes, let alone the countless other tales of power that went with it. It must have taken an egregious mistake for Adalia to lose it.

And she knew that only in death would Adalia make a mistake like that.

The Queen of the Faes was dead.

“Naya, we need a new leader. You seem to be the only one who can comprehend this sort of danger. Would you please accept this staff and take the position as leader of the Faes?”

Naya was stunned. This was ridiculous. Not so long ago they had refuted her altogether, and now they wanted her to lead them? This was astonishing!

Then suddenly her thoughts brought her back to reality. So you couldn’t get yourself out of this mess so you enlisted me to do it for you. I have no bright ideas – you crushed the ones I did have long ago. I should refuse and let you be trapped in the cage of your own making. But despite herself, she couldn’t help but consider it. It was not only be the Council who was trapped – it was be the entire Space Fae race. She couldn’t abandon her people to the Heulens. Maybe she could come up with some sort of plan to save them. She had to at least try!

Silently she accepted the staff, and all of the power and responsibility that went with it. As soon as she touched the staff it was as if a thousand bees had found their way into her system and were humming. Her entire system vibrated, her mind falling into sync with the incredible droning of the energy. It shook through her veins and made her hair stand on end. She was powerless to stop it, her hand clutched to the smooth wood of the gently sloping staff. Suddenly the droning ceased and she had the impression of having passed some sort of test. What, she could not have said, but she had passed.

Staff in hand, she walked slowly to the exit. Her entire being buzzed still with incredible energy, like a horse at the racetrack eager to start. She was ready to go, and she felt as if she could do anything.

Tal greeted her inside the tunnel, his eyes worried. His eyes widened when he noticed the Staff, but he said nothing; there was nothing to say. They were like brother and sister, and it was as if they could communicate by looks alone.

Silently she stepped outside, the soft brilliance provided by the tree and the wide, open sky momentarily startling her eyes. She walked to the edge of a branch and stared at the Faes dancing and talking darting around, their little lights following them everywhere as if they were born of light. She sat down slowly, and then turned to Tal.

“Tal, I need to think. Could you please . . .?”

She didn’t need to finish her sentence before her friend left her alone with her thoughts.

                                                *              *              *

Tal approached Naya cautiously. She had stayed on the branch for hours now, just staring off into space and thinking. Meanwhile, he had done some research that he wanted to share with her, and there seemed to be no way to talk to her without interrupting her wandering thoughts. Silently he sat down next to her and waited for her to notice him.

“Did you ever look up at the sky?” she asked him, gesturing up at the darkened sky. It was a wide expanse of utter nothingness, like a black hole just waiting to suck them up. He nodded.

“Its seems so big . . . surely there would be enough room for everything up there?”

He had never considered the sky to have space – it had always seemed like a two-dimensional object, like a cover stretched over to protect the world they lived in. But if there really was something beyond that expanse of light blue, then it was large enough to include this world and everything else.

“I suppose so,”

She fell silent, her eyes twinkling slightly in the glow of the tree’s leaves. Lighted from the back, her own light seemed less, as if overpowered by things bigger and greater than she was. Shadows danced across her face where they avoided the stars in her hair and the light of the tree as she suddenly stood up.

“I have an idea.” The darkness seemed to swirl around her, and it no longer seemed as if she were overpowered by the brilliance of the streams of light coming from the tree behind her; rather, she seemed like a deer in the forest, not overpowered, but working with her environment to survive. Her crystalline eyes fell upon the Tal.

“A portal. A portal away from here.” She gazed at the sky surrounding her like a safe haven just out of reach. “We can go into the sky. This staff has a power of its own, equal to a thousand Faes.” Her hawk-eyed gaze softened as it fell upon Tal. “But I won’t be able to operate this alone. Will you help? It will be dangerous,” she warned.

Her brother in everything but blood leapt up next to her, his deep-blue sparkling wings fluttering slightly in the breeze, giving off a faint sparkle that twinkled through the glow. It was all the confirmation and support she needed.

                                                                *              *              *

The portal was four hands wide and five hands tall. Ominous black colors swirled as though in a whirlpool through the portal, making it look like a gaping mouth prepared to swallow any foolish enough to enter. It was enough to ward off even the bravest Faes.

But the sight of several Faes needing to be supported just to make it up to the portal was enough to show the Faes just how dire the situation was should they stay behind. Dermin looked at the portal with some misgivings, but a look at the two Faes bent over the Space Staff was enough to harden his resolve. He steeled himself, and leapt in.

Naya and Tal shuddered with every person who entered. One with the portal, it attempted to wrest from their control every time someone went through, making it an ongoing battle for the two young Faes.

The Faes jumped through as quickly as possible, except for those daunted by the unknown land beyond the swirling entrance. They hung towards the back as if expecting some sort of hideous fiend to spring out of the opening.

Long glares from Nalithia, another Council Fae, quickly changed all that. Literally having to shove some Faes to the opening, she could see the portal shaking from the effort. It was taking too long, and Tal and Naya’s grip was crumbling. Finally there was only one other Fae left.

“Synthia! Hurry up!” Nalithia called to the cowering Fae frantically. The portal was twisting wildly now, like a piece of seaweed warping in the slightest current. It would burst at any moment, and who knew what would happen then – especially to the two controlling it. The two Faes were sweating heavily, the portal just barely within their grasp. Desperately, Nalithia grabbed the girl and plunged into the portal.

But Naya knew it was too late. She could feel the last of her life energy vanishing, like a light bulb slowly fading to darkness as the portal twisted and vanished. But the energy from the staff still pulsated through her, still alive despite the fading of her life energy. She was in limbo, dead and yet still powerful, the staff still keeping her from going into darkness altogether. She looked up to save Tal, but saw that it was useless; he was gone as well. But there was still the stray energy. She could still accomplish some good in the world.

And so she took to the world as an elemental. She was the air, the ground, the light; she was every element and everywhere. Tal was with her, and element as well. She gazed around and realized that the Space Faes were not the only Faes in the world; there were the Water Faes, the Fire Faes, the Light Faes, the Dark Faes, the Earth Faes – and she could see that soon, they too would be caught in the downward spiral that nearly destroyed the Space Faes. She had to help them.

And so she swept across the dry grassland. For the Water Faes she created rivers and oceans deeper than the deepest gorge to hide in. For the Light Faes, she created the sun and the day; for the Night Faes, the night and the darkness. For the Fire Faes she made lightning and lava; for the Earth Faes she created caverns and mountains. This way, these Faes would always have something to hide in and draw power from, unlike the Space Faes.

The Space Tree – her home – stood before her. With the very last of her energy she turned the Tree into pure ice, so that not even the Heulens could have what was once the Faes’ home. She used so much power that it went straight through to the other side, creating twin ice caps on either side of the Earth, places where no Heulen could ever live.

She turned to see Tal, using his last energy as well, but in a different way. He knew that the Heulens had to be stopped, somehow, so he created something that would slowly eat away at their bodies and minds, ensuring that the population could never grow large enough to begin to take over what the Space Faes now called home. Both their jobs completed, their remaining energy draining to nothing, they looked for some sign that the Space Faes were safe. Suddenly Tal pointed a hand that was air, earth, and light at the sky.

                Suddenly she spotted it. There, in the sky, were stars and a gigantic moon. Somewhere, someplace, the Space Faes were safe.

                                                                                *              *              *

                Many years have passed since then, and the names would translate differently now. Faes could be known as Faeries. Naya is translated as Nature, and Tal and his invention are called Time. And the Heulens? Why, they are humans.

                So remember, next time you cut down a tree or pollute the water, just keep in mind – you never know what will happen this time if you push the Faes too far . . .