Page 9 of Court of Aether and Shadows

I turned away from the mirror, overwhelmed by questions I couldn't begin to answer. My gaze fell upon a balcony I hadn't noticed before — sheer curtains billowing in a breeze that carried the scent of night-blooming flowers and something wilder, more primal.

My curiosity builds, and the need to dismiss what I’m currently experiencing pushes me to give in to this new desire to explore and be adventurous in nature.

A defiant need to be free from these suffocating chambers.

Drawn by an urge, I moved towards the balcony. As I pushed aside the curtains, my breath caught in my throat. The view before me was breathtaking…and impossible.

This just can’t be real…

I stood at the highest point of a castle that defied the laws of physics and nature. Spires of black glass and silver metal twisted towards a sky ablaze with stars and auroras.

Gardens hung suspended in midair, waterfalls flowing upwards to form rivers that wound between the towers. In thedistance, I could see forests of trees with leaves of gold and silver, their branches reaching towards a horizon where two suns – one blood red, one turquoise blue – were set in tandem.

Below, a city sprawled out in concentric circles, each ring separated by canals of softly glowing water. The architecture was a blend of organic and geometric forms, buildings that looked as if they had been grown rather than built.

If such an assumption was even possible.

Streets paved with what appeared to be mother-of-pearl winds between structures of crystal, living wood, and stone that pulsed with inner light.

And everywhere, there was movement.

Beings of all shapes and sizes went about their business in the streets below. Some were humanoid, others decidedly not. I saw winged creatures soaring between the towers, aquatic forms gliding through the canals, and things that defied easy categorization slipping through shadows that seemed deeper than they should be.

It was beautiful, terrifying, and utterly alien.

Yet some part of me felt a deep sense of belonging as if I was finally seeing a home I had forgotten I had.

Why did I dare forget this place…called home?

A warm breeze caressed my skin, carrying with it whispers in a language I didn't understand but somehow recognized. It spoke of ancient magics, battles long past and prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Of a world balanced on the knife-edge between light and shadow, order and chaos.

They grow in volume, humming with calm at first before their harmonic mumbles shift into yearning need. The tone of desperation is rooted in the language that’s so unique to listen to but stirs an unease within my chest.

The tighteness only grows, as my mind begins to mutter something.

Begging for my recognition, until beneath it all, a single word repeated like a heartbeat:

Fae.

The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow - my head began to pound like a nagging drum. A warning? A blessing? I can’t fight the agony it brings while my realization grows to be confronted.

This wasn't just some fantastical dream world.

This was the realm of the Fae, creatures of legend and myth.

Beings of immense power and capricious nature, who had once been worshipped and feared in equal measure by humanity.

But if this was truly the Fae realm, what did that make me?

Why did I feel such a profound connection to this place?

Before I could ponder these questions further, a wave of dizziness washed over me. The world tilted alarmingly, and I staggered back from the balcony. Heat flooded my body, a fire that burned from within and left me gasping for air.

Too hot. So dizzy and weak…what’s going on? What’s happening to me?

This feels unprovoked, especially when a part of me knows I rarely fall ill, but the onset is too random. Almost as if my body is trying to warn me —protect me —but from what?

From myself?

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