On the fourth night after Bronwyn killed Thun, she was camping along the mountain road, staring into the brilliant expanse of stars and letting the embers of her fire warm her when a twig snapped from the direction of the road. She jumped up and readied her Solar Shell spell, but when she looked in the direction of the sound, she saw the outline of a child in the shadows. “Who’s there?” she asked, trying not to sound agitated.

“Hello, Bronwyn,” replied the small shape, but it wasn’t with a child’s voice. Rather, it sounded like a young man with a rich rumble of bass chasing his words.

“Hello. Mind sharing your name?”

“You know me all too well, my friend; ‘tis I, Coraignon, but I prefer the name with which you dubbed me.” He moved closer, and Bronwyn’s eyes picked out some details as the weak embers of the fire illuminated him. Coraignon was a thin, tanned little man about the size of a nine-year-old human. He had honey-colored hair and big eyes that glinted in the ember light. His teeth shone white as his smile spread.

“Hops?”

“Aye, sweet Bronwyn!” He took another step forward, but Bronwyn held out a hand.

“Hops! You tricked me! I can’t believe you took a bath with me!”

“I’m sorry, Boldheart!”

“Oh, Boldheart, is it? Trying to be sweet since you kidnapped me?” She sat back down and motioned for Coraignon to sit as well. He strode forward lightly, and Bronwyn almost giggled when she saw that he was wearing green tights and had bare feet. His vest and tiny cloak looked warm, though, lined with fox fur.

“I’ve always thought you bold, and your heart is so big; it’s my nickname for you,” he said, sitting across the firepit from her. He dug a small clay pipe out of his pocket and began to fiddle with it.

“Why didn’t you ever talk to me, Hops? So many times, I could’ve used a friend to sound things out.”

“Well, because I was embarrassed and also afraid. You spent so much time with Urghat, and they love to eat my kind!”

“Hmph. Well, why were you embarrassed?” She frowned as he gestured to his small frame, and his thin lips quirked up in a smile.

“I’m a Brownie. Humans always dismiss us or fear us, but they never love us.”

“Oh, Hops!” Bronwyn suppressed an urge to laugh at his dramatic statement, realizing he’d take it as his feelings being dismissed. “I do love you! You kept me company despite pretending to be a strange little animal, and I’ll never forget that.”

“Well, I loved spending time with you! I wasn’t born when the fae had access to Earth, so you’re the first human I’ve met. You’re just like the heroes from our stories! You stood against evil, protected your people, and loved with all your heart! My cousins were so jealous when I told them of our times together.”

“Well, I hope we can still spend time together!”

“Oh, me too! The Queen doesn’t often have much for us Brownies to do, but I begged her to bring you this message.”

“Message?”

“Yes! I’m supposed to show you to a Way Tree; the Queen knows about your success and about the revered dead you carry in that amulet; she wants you home as quickly as possible to give you your reward and to pay homage to Thun’s victims.”

“These corpses; they’re Fae?” Bronwyn touched the necklace hanging just below her throat.

“Summer Fae, aye. Thun collected us when he caught us out.”

“Oh God, that’s awful.”

“Queen Aestasia asked that we make haste; she says she has important news for you.”

“Like now? Or should we wait for the sun?” Bronwyn glanced up at the brilliant stars and the two moons—the big and little sisters.

“I can see fine; come, the tree isn’t far.” Coraignon stood and held out a hand for her. Bronwyn took his warm little hand in hers and stood up.

“All right, let’s go, Hops.” She allowed him to pull her along at a brisk walk a short way up the road and then off, through a moonlit meadow. They passed into the cool shadow of tall, blue-needled fir trees and then approached a huge, ancient trunk, clearly struck by lightning once upon a time. Bronwyn looked up at the towering, mostly barren forest lord and let out a low whistle. “Quite a tree.”

“You should have met him before the lightning stole his beauty. He gained some special magic from the bolt, though. He can send you to the Summer Court if you stand inside that hollow between his branches there.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes; his spirit is strong.”

“Are you coming with me?”

“Not yet; I have another task for the Queen. I’ll miss you, Bronwyn. I hope we can meet again soon.” Bronwyn squeezed his little hand tightly and knelt on one knee so that she could pull him into a tight hug. His thin little body felt very light and small, but he was warm like a tiny furnace.

“Be careful, Hops! I miss you already!”

After she stopped squeezing him and stood up, Coraignan waved to her and pointed up at the blackened hollow between the lowest of the tree’s huge branches. Bronwyn nodded and lept up, grabbing the bottom edge of the hole and hauling herself up. She stood on the edge, turned to wave one more time, and then walked into the hollow. It was dark at first, but then warm light filled the hollow, and when she turned around, she could see out into a sunlit, flower-filled meadow.

The smell of charred, musty wood was gone, and when she stepped to the edge of the tree’s hollow, she saw that its bark, here in the Fae Realm, was vibrant and alive, and the tree’s massive branches were heavy with leaves. “Thank you, old one,” she said softly, then hopped down into the meadow. A fluttering, winged figure flew into her vision, shedding tiny motes of light or Energy. “Hello, miss,” Bronwyn said when she saw the little fairy’s face.

“Agent of Summer! Welcome home! The Lady awaits.” She flitted in a small circle and sped off, pausing to see that Bronwyn followed. She hurried after the little fairy, savoring the warmth of summer and the sun on her skin that had been exposed to chilly night air only moments ago.

Bronwyn was surprised to find the fairy leading her through forest paths and into another meadow, this one surrounded by tall, white-barked birch trees. The ground in the clearing was soft and springy, rich dark soil showing between the clumps of grass. Queen Aestasia was standing alone in the meadow's center, the sun causing her skin to glow with a rich, honeyed gleam. “Daughter! Come, we have sad business to attend to before speaking of other things.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t know the bodies in this necklace were your people,” Bronwyn said, stepping closer and holding a hand to the necklace.

“When I sensed your conflict, I scried your battle and briefly saw what you saw. I’m sorry for the intrusion, my agent, but I feel the need to see what I can in such harrowing situations. I’m not always successful, but my connection to you was very strong during your battle with Thun.” She reached out a hand when Bronwyn stepped close, running her fingers lightly over Bronwyn’s auburn-red curls. “I was so proud and so worried when you fought. Your cleverness and tenacity were a good match for Thun’s pride.”

“Thank you; I almost failed, going to the clearing too early.”

“It all worked out, thanks to your fleet feet. Now, walk with me, and allow me to make a space for our fallen kin.” She reached down, and the earth simply parted before her hand, making a body-sized hole. “Place the first of our kin here, please, Bronwyn.” Bronwyn reached into the ring and selected the first body, pulling it forth into the rich black soil. The body was that of a tall man, similar in size and appearance to those that stood guard outside the Queen’s throne room. “Seraile, welcome home. Your service was great, and the Realms welcome your spirit.” The soil closed over the body, and tiny shoots of grass and dandelions sprouted from the dark dirt.

They walked all around the meadow, planting the corpses of the fallen Fae and even the dead animals. The Queen spoke just as fondly of the dead animals, and Bronwyn wondered if they had been Fae in animal form. All in all, they buried over seventy bodies in the warm, sunny meadow, and when they were done, it was covered in flower patches, and not an inch of black soil could be seen through the dark, green grass.

“Thank you for honoring the dead with me, daughter.”

“Of course,” was all Bronwyn could think of to say.

“I have important news for you about your people and, in particular, your friend Morgan.” She paused, perhaps for effect or perhaps to make sure Bronwyn was paying attention. “My agents on Fanwath reported an invasion taking place near the location of your settlement. Energy users from another world had created a portal and were kidnapping natives by the hundreds. I was debating a response when it seems your friend, Morgan, became involved and managed to cause the invaders to retreat.”

“Oh, that’s good!”

“That was my feeling until my agents informed me that the hero who closed the portal had gone through beforehand and is now trapped on the other side.”

“What? Morgan is on another world?”

“That’s correct, and it’s quite a distant world, one where I have very little influence; the realms don’t touch it.”

“Oh no,” Bronwyn frowned, imagining being the only person on a hostile world.

“All is not lost, however. I’ve devised a plan with the help of your friend, Coraignon.”

“Really? You’ll help Morgan?”

“Not precisely; I’ll help you because I know you’ll want to help him, and I think it will benefit humanity on Fanwath to have all of their heroes on the same world. At least for now.”

“Thank you, then, and thank you for your honesty.”

“I’ll always be honest with you, child, even when it hurts. Now, I was able to briefly scry your friend, thanks to some help from Coraignon, who has met him several times. I found Morgan resting in a barren landscape with a few other people from Fanwath. Using that knowledge, I created this,” she produced a triangular block of stone about the size of Bronwyn’s hand. It was densely inscribed with flowing, looping runes of silvery metal. “This is a teleportation keystone, and I believe it will work perfectly with one of the portals in your friend’s tower.” She held it out, and Bronwyn took it, marveling at its dense weight and the sense of thrumming Energy within it.

“So I can open a portal to the world where Morgan is?”

“Yes, and, in the interest of being transparent with you, I’d like you to know that those that invaded from that world are not native to it; they hail from yet another world and are heavily influenced by the Winter Court. It is in my interest to see you rescue your friend and thwart them further.” Bronwyn narrowed her eyes and regarded her Queen, whom she’d grown so fond of, so quickly. She noticed that she wasn’t feeling the overwhelming emotion that had stricken her while speaking to the Queen in her throne room.

“Is something different? Your aura isn’t overwhelming me with emotion anymore.”

“I’m trying harder to restrain it, Bronwyn, and I have less influence in this place than in my seat of power.”

“Well, thank you for helping me and for telling me all of your motives. That’s all of them, right?”

“No. I also wanted to reward you for your service against Thun. You struck a great blow against the Winter Court, Bronwyn.”

“Should I get going then? It sounds like time is of the essence.”

“Yes, but, Bronwyn, there’s one more thing. Your friend Morgan currently holds a powerful boon granted to him by the System upon your people arriving through space. Coraignon noticed it right away, and though he seems a good person and tries to stop evil when confronted with it, I’m not sure he’s the right person to hold it. You see, this boon is a title that makes his already powerful Energy use vastly more so; the System has designated him as Humanity’s Champion. Perhaps you should discuss with him if he’s the right one to hold it; it can be transferred.”

“Oh really? He never mentioned that to me.”

“Indeed.”

“Well, alright, I’ll talk to him.” Bronwyn didn’t quite know how to feel; she did want to confront Morgan about the title, but she also felt like this was the first time the Queen had tried to manipulate her. Obviously, she was implying that Bronwyn should try to take the title or, in a best-case scenario, get Morgan to give it to her.

A breeze fluttering through her hair broke Bronwyn’s internal dialogue, and she saw that the Queen had summoned a portal. “This will take you to a meadow near your people’s settlement. Good luck, daughter! I know you’ll be successful.” Bronwyn nodded, feeling awkward with her mind whirling in a dozen directions, but she managed a wave and a smile.

“Thank you,” she said and stepped through the portal. The air changed in quality immediately, and though it was still summer, everything smelled differently. The light was different, and she felt instantly more isolated. Bronwyn hadn’t realized how at home she felt in the Fae Realms now, and she wondered what that said about the changes that had occurred in her. Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked up at the blue sky, taking in a gasp when she saw the unmistakable sight of a dirigible airship. It was hanging in the sky, attached to a long tether, over the long, dun-colored wall of First Landing.