Bad on the inside

"Nervina is dead."

"That can't be true."

"It is - it might as well be ... he is dead to me anyway."

Sardonicus looked concerned - Puck continued on:

"I want you to take his imprint from all of the locks and permissions. He is to have no access to any of the estates or communications. And, please, put an Elven alert out also, should he be seen in this region."

"What on heavenly earth are you talking about?" asked Sardonicus who was now more perturbed than ever. "Have the two of you had a falling out?"

"It’s nothing like that – it’s much more. You know how a tree can go bad from the inside but look perfectly stable until it falls? Well, his discernment has corrupted and he can no longer be trusted - he's gone bad on the inside...”

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

Master Azlan

The timbre in his voice resounded a character of good quality. His richly clothed tones of resonantly painted words imparted only but a little of his sadness as he spoke.

"Master Azlan, what would you have us do?"

The great Lion closed his eyes as though he were resting them.

He could hear the future as it advanced, he could sense the destinies of men and saw the mountains erode with the seas washing over; he felt the mass, he heard the murmur, he saw the presence of the Holy and the true.

He condensed the wayward and sloughs of the irritant, he went to that silent place of all answers, and then, he knew. 

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

The Fey

Each one of the Fey are 'blue bloods'. Their lineages are pure and every one of them holds some kind of royal heritage.

They do not require oxygen to live and nor does it tire them; their memories go back before the Golden Age: when the Earth had a firm, tight, nubile body, and danced through the starry heavens like a new spinning top, giddy with youthful promise.

Their souls are noble, and contrary to worldly opinion, they are hard working and cautious - not rampant, erratic or frivolous - as so often portrayed.

There has been a good deal of alarmist propaganda about the Faery Kingdom over the ages, bolstered by the very real incongruity of skills between the mortals and that of their own.

And to be fair, ignorance and innuendo has played its part over time, within their being's thinking also ... where human virtues have been mostly overlooked and people, in their eyes, are judged to be infantile, erratic and frivolous also.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

Naïvety

"Do you know who you are playing with?" he asked. The betrayal stung. Puck had had some vague hope that somehow Nervina had just been scouting around, staying close for information. This would have been a dangerous game, but worse still, he seemed genuinely in love."Next you will be blaming him for Atlantis. What is your problem?"

"You just do not get it, do you?" bit back Puck exasperated. "How many mortals has this demon tortured and killed - some he took over and consumed from the inside? Do you realize?"

"So a few died. They die anyway, and then they pop up again. What is the problem with them leaving early? Mark is a history shaper - and history always has its martyrs."

Puck felt the end of the conversation with this being said - there was going to be no way of getting through to Nervina. His insensitivity to the human condition and their suffering was commonplace amongst the Fey - they simply did not feel any of it. As for their own personal tributes to loss and suffering, such commemorating was done with a polished melancholy.

Puck preferred to think him as being innocent to the evil he was spouting; yet naive or not, his best friend was sleeping with the enemy, and there was nothing he could do or say to break that spell.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

The Nine Tails

Nervina looked sheepishly back at Puck - whose face was black as thunder - not literally of course but figuratively speaking. Puck reserved his tempers for only the most important of times and this he considered to be one of them.

He had nabbed Nervina outside a club that he and Forsythe would frequent on a Saturday night. In point of fact Forsythe owned this club amongst others - the Nine Tails - but had omitted to tell this to Nervina.

They stood outside near the entrance while drunken revellers pushed past them - one slinky youth stared amorously at Puck and then sauntered over to introduce himself daring to interrupt an already irate elf.

Puck pushed him aside and continued to shout abuse at Nervina - which no one could hear but themselves as the conversation was being managed with clairaudience.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

Fluffy Rabbit

"I have a surprise for you Charles."

She went very quiet - the word 'surprise' generally meant a very good thing in her language - something worth opening your eyes for.

Puck produced a big pink bag tied at the top with a huge silver ribbon. She stuffed her hand into it and a cloud of iridescent butterflies flew out. Barely noticing them (for she had seen that trick a few too many times) she persisted until pulling out a floppy yet fluffy soft rabbit toy and the two were instantly friends.

Later that night when Charley had been safely transferred back into her little bed, the rabbit wriggled out of her grasp and stealthily checked out the room satisfying itself that the window latch was locked, he snuggled back into her arms falling fast asleep beside her.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series

Angels & Demons

"Are you saying that you are an Angel?"

"No, no ... no - no, not at all. Totally different - though a kinship we share. No, we are a parallel race to you mortals, save our life in your world is invisible to it, though you might see us from time to time in unusual circumstances. We are the Fey."

"A ghost?"

"No"

"A demon then?"

"No, but some of us can be troublemakers. Now getting back to wizards ... you see they can be very powerful because they work with the willing cooperation of those Fey who believe them to be worthy of their assistance in the first place."

He went on, "but you see magicians, on the other hand" he said, holding out his left hand, "never really seek to earn the affection of those they want something from - their tools are deceptive and are always seeking some sense of control. Illusion is key and reality of slim consequence, the magician has little care for anyone other than himself, and, is far more ill tempered too, you will find, than a true wizard. So what will it be? Which do you choose?"

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series