Hope’s Favour

‘Who can tell me what this place is?’ <i>Muffled laughter. Their first outing from the travelling village since arriving in this new Realm, and they’re more than a touch restless.</> ‘Alright, you rowdy lot. This is class time, not a vacation. Where are we?’ <i>‘Fae ruins!’</> ‘Very good, and what was their purpose?’ <i>‘To live inside?’</> ‘Not quite. This place holds something very special. Something rare, even to we Druids. Follow me; it’s just ahead.’ <i>The Favour calls out, magick growing as the group walks single file toward it. Now intrigued, the children stay silent, feeling the pull increase. For those Realm-born, it seems both familiar and foreign. A piece of the home they’ve never seen.</> ‘Ah, here we are.’ <i>In the centre of a crumbling hall, it glimmers like embers rising from a fire, swirling with long forgotten symbols.</>

‘Isn’t it lovely? It’s much like the Hope Echoes we’ve studied, but newer, stronger. Spawning from our growing Hope, we think. It’s called a Favour.’ <i>‘It’s glowing.’</> ‘Yes.’ <i>‘From Fae magick?’</> ‘No, this one is ours. The Favour is here because humanity was here, once. The Fae built this place to hold it, like a prison.’ <i>‘Why would they do that?’</> ‘Only certain Fae do, not all. Just like you or I, they can be scared by unfamiliar things. Hope is ours alone, so when the Fae find it here, in their homes, it frightens them.’ <i>‘But trapping it is mean.’</> ‘Perhaps. But if our order wishes to understand the Fae, then we must forgive them their mistakes and teach them something better. Just as they’ve taught us. We can put things right though and set this Echo free.’

‘Hands together and imagine it released.’ <i>The Favour disperses in a gentle, shimmering burst.</> ‘Now watch. This is the Favour’s true magick.’ <i>A small hop and then a great, slow leap, soaring at a snail's pace.</> ‘Come, follow me!’ <i>Raucous laughter as the children leap and tumble through the air. Soon, falling gently to the ground, the magick lost.</> ‘Most Echoes carry only a memory, but some keep a bigger piece of those who leave them. In thanks for granting them freedom, they may gift you some of their talents or strengths. Once their Echo is truly gone though, returned to the void, so is the power they lend.’ <i>‘Will it come back?’</> ‘No, it doesn’t belong here any more.’ <i>A resounding hum of affirmation, with the unwavering certainty of childhood.</> ‘Now, everyone, it’s time we headed home to Kellewik.’