[ WP ] You are transported to a world where beings such as fairies and mermaids exist but humans do not . Now YOU are the mythical creature .

Sun Warden Soliaen had n't believed the rumors until he saw the Monster for himself. It looked unsettlingly like one of his own race, but it was shorter, stockier, clumsier. Uglier. It was like a cruel mockery of the Fey. 
 
 
 The Monster had appeared sometime during the Midsummer celebration; no one had witnessed its arrival, but there were signs that it had strolled blithely into a pisky's garden without permission and eaten some of the fruit which grew there. The sight of bare footprints crossing the boundary glyphs without hesitation had chilled Soliaen to his core. *This should n't be possible. * 
 
 
 The trespass had occurred during the final six hours of noon, so the Monster was immediately thought to be a member of the Sun Caste; members of the Moon Caste began a search the moment that midnight began that evening. After several hours, they'd found it lounging by a pond belonging to the Mer, eating from a bundle of grapes and regarding the night sky. Even deep into Midnight, it was wide awake. 
 
 
 The Moon Caste party had silently surrounded the Monster before it took notice. The party leader had attempted to speak to the creature and, astonishingly, it spoke the same language. 
 
 
 `` Trespasser!'' the Monster leapt to its feet as the Moon Warden called out. The sudden motion made the rest of the encircling party jerk backwards, revealing their position to the creature. The Moon Warden managed to keep his position, and carefully calmed his nerves before continuing. 
 
 
 `` We wish to parley; for our mutual protection, will you swear to remain where you are while we converse?'' The confidence in the Moon Warden's voice steeled the rest of search party. 
 
 
 `` Um, yes, ok. I promise I'll stay here while we talk if you promise not to hurt me.'' Even the Monster's voice was ugly, lacking all the music which conveyed intelligence and culture. Even its Bargain was flawed. What's more, the Monster's eyes darted about to the now-apparent fey encircling it. It was obviously cowed somewhat by the forces arrayed against it. The search party's confidence grew. 
 
 
 `` I promise that I will not harm you, if you stay where you are while we speak.'' The Moon Warden gave a lithe signal with his hand. Two young fey approached the Monster from either side, and drew twin semicircles around it with salt, each ending where their counterpart's started to form a perfect, unbroken circle. They sang a brief spell and the salt emitted a silvery glow to signify the barrier was in place. 
 
 
 `` Now, trespasser, of which caste are you?'' The Moon Warden began. 
 
 
 `` I'm sorry, I do n't know what you mean. We do n't really have casts in my country, and I do n't really know where I am right now.'' 
 
 
 The Moon Warden frowned at the barrier. It remained a perfect silver: there was no distortion to indicate that an untruth had been spoken during parley. The Monster was apparently speaking the truth. Matters were complicated somewhat by the Monster's apparent lack of any aura whatsoever, a typical trait for dumb beasts, but not something one would expect from a creature capable of speach. 
 
 
 `` What *are* you?'' The Moon Warden thought aloud, changing it into a question as he spoke. 
 
 
 `` Well, I'm a human... male... American, if that means anything to you. Can you tell me where I am?'' The barrier remained unblemished as the Monster spoke. It belied its foolishness in the final question: it asked whether an answer *could* be provided, rather than asking for the answer itself. 
 
 
 The Moon Warden simply said `` Yes, I could,'' and smiled. This creature was obviously nothing more than some dumb animal, and the Sun Caste citizens had been panicking over nothing. He made another quick gesture with his hands, and the rest of the party drew their glass swords and began to approach the beast. 
 
 
 `` Hey, man, you promised you would n't hurt me if I stayed here, and I have n't been moving --'' the Monster began nervously. 
 
 
 The Moon Warden replied smugly. `` Yes. *I* wo n't be hurting you. I --'' 
 
 
 `` Oh fuck *this* bullshit.'' The Monster interrupted, raising its hands defensively as it stepped backwards out of the salt circle, scuffing it in the process. The silver light of the barrier winked out immediately. The Monster seemed not to notice in the slightest. 
 
 
 Everyone froze. The beast had broken its own Bargain, and simultaneously destroyed a barrier without the slightest effort. 
 
 
 `` I do n't want to hurt anyone, but I *will* defend myself if you make me,'' the Monster continued, completely oblivious to what it had done. The entire search party fled immediately, some dropping their weapons as they did. The Moon Warden himself only managed to hold his ground for an instant before terror overwhelmed him. *Impossible... impossible, * the thought echoed through his mind as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him. 
 
 
 That was two days ago. Since then, the Monster has helped itself to gardens and orchards on a whim, and repeatedly approached citizens of each Caste; common and noble alike. The Sun Warden had personally watched the creature stride through ancient wards as if they were spider webs. *No, less than webs. It was completely unaware of their existence, * the Sun Warden pondered as he worked. 
 
 
 He watched the Monster sitting beside a lake, its head in its hands as it wept softly. Even when putting on a show of sorrow, the beast had no discernable aura. *It's a trick of some sort. Nothing with emotion lacks an aura. * 
 
 
 The Sun Warden slowly and carefully worked the many latches of the silver chest before him. Within the chest was a smaller chest and a gauntlet, each made of pure diamond. The Warden's brow began to bead with sweat. He had never heard of this vile weapon actually being used since the Final War. But they needed it now. He opened the diamond chest. Within lay the Allslayer's Blade, suspended by spidersilk with its point aimed perfectly downward. 
 
 
 It was sharp, but crude, as the material was exceptionally rare and universally fatal. Even crafting the blade had cost the lives of over a dozen fey. The Sun Warden donned the gauntlet and carefully drew the blade. Even with the gauntlet, it was very unlikely he would survive wielding the blade for more than a few moments. He turned his head away from it, took a deep breath, and charged from his hiding spot. 
 
 
 ________________________________ 
 
 
 The human started at the sudden explosion of movement from the bushes. One of the locals was sprinting at him with some kind of crude iron knife; it looked prehistoric, and laughably shoddy compared to the beautifully crafted glass swords he'd seen previously. 
 
 
 The local screamed as he charged, and the usual grace the human had come to expect from these people was somewhat undercut by his strange stance: he kept his face turned away from the blade as if it had a foul smell, or was radioactive. The human managed to grab the local's wrist and wrench it in a maneuver that would've been impossible if the local had been watching where it was going. 
 
 
 The knife clattered to the ground, and the human shoved the other being away. The locals were very swift and agile, but they did n't have much weight to them. The human picked up the knife and examined it while the local stared, dumbfounded. Upon closer inspection, it was definitely just a solid iron knife. 
 
 
 The local had managed to knick the human's upper arm in the brief scuffle, but the cut was so shallow as to've barely broken the skin. The human wiped away the thin spotting of blood with his shirtsleeve, and tucked the knife into his belt before turning back to the being who'd attacked him. 
 
 
 `` The fuck is *wrong* with you people?!'' he shouted at the wild-eyed local who was frantically scrabbling backward away from him. `` I just needed directions!'' 
 

