Humans in the Wildes
Humans have wandered in and out of the Wildes for years. Not many escape, but there are ways out. There are places to hide and find magic that will seep into blood and bone. Likewise, Wilders traveled between the worlds with ease as well. The archways were always there, even if they were not in the human world. Once, the human world was much like the Wildes to Wilders; new and terrifying and so very dangerous should you run across the wrong human. Selkie skins stolen by human men who wed them for nothing but their need for their pelt, krowe eyes and feathers plucked from their bodies for fake magic, kelpies bridled with gold and their hearts carved out to become slaves for human farmers who believed they'd struck the highest kind of luck.
Faeries are called such because they believe they are "fair" in punishment and all things. They say they believe in balance, in equal reactions for all actions, but they're mirthful creatures. They took delight in wandering out into the human world and luring humans in, enslaving them with ambrosia and sweet food charmed to taste wonderful. The Faeries are old as the Angels, as the Elementals. There are even popular rumors that the Queen herself was once a Faery, and that the Faeries were the ones that made the Archways accessible to humans. However, these are simply rumors and theories. Something we can confirm is the existence of the Faer Mirror.
The Faer Mirror was an important part of human integration into the Wildes; it was a 100% sure way for humans to return to their own world. There were rules, of course; you could not take anything back to the human world that you had not entered with, do not leave any part of yourself behind, and respect the Wildes as it is. The Faeries initially used this in order to give humans a goal so that they would play the Faeries' games. The mirror was difficult to reach as Faeries set up tests and obstacles for humans to get through, mostly for their own amusement but also as punishment.
Wilders and humans learned to live adjacent to each other; the humans knew the laws and could survive the Wildes, and Wilders began to develop their own tricks in order to get what they wished for from humans. Trades, wishes, blessings, and curses began to occur among humans and Wilders. Many Wilders developed a human form, making them less frightening and more likely to gain a human's trust. Humans became more scarce as they learned what endangered them, and only the truly bold or the truly foolish would enter.
Around 400 years ago, the Wildes began to weaken. Time felt as though it dragged and caught, the trees changed with the seasons, the weather became more erratic. The Wildes ached with hunger, and it slowly began to wilt and crumble into the sea at the edges. Creatures that later became known as Kirin appeared and began stalking through the Wildes, consuming all in their path. 50 years ago, in desperation, the Faeries abandoned the Faer Mirror, and humans could enter and exit the Wildes with little issue. At first this merely led to more exploration within the Wildes, and then there was a large boost in the Mage and Echo population, and a rapid increase in the Wildes. The ocean surrounding us was pushed back as the Mountains stretched into a larger range, the Deep Woods expanded to nearly three times its size, and the swamp crept further outwards. More Wilder species emerged, many from humans becoming warped by magic or saturated with the Wildes' energy. The Wildes bloomed with a sort of vitality we hadn't known for a long while.
The First Axe
Two years ago, a large gathering of humans began entering and exiting the the Mirror, carrying things with them into the Wildes to leave. Then they began to build. They knocked down trees, cutting into trunk flesh and we all felt the chill as the first axe split the bark. It was like ice sliding down your throat. It was a call to us, from the Wildes itself.
Stop them.
The Angels took the initiative, as they were the largest collection of Wilders nearby the building site. The Seraphim sent their elder son, Cherub, to act as a diplomat and speak with the humans. He explained that they could not knock down the trees or construct in the Wildes, as it was made up of places and things they had abandoned and chosen to leave behind. This was not theirs anymore, and they could not make it so. The one in charge of the operation, the General, agreed to these terms and promised to give word to their rulers. The construction stopped for a while, and then started back up, slower and in secret. Each tree felled was like a noose tightening around our necks. We all knew. Every Wilder knew that the humans were building, destroying what they had already abandoned so they could keep the scraps of it they deemed useful.
Cherub went once more to attempt and stop their building before involving the other Angels, who would surely eat their hearts without remorse. Once more, the General agreed, stopped for a while, and continued. Frustrated with this, Cherub insisted they would all die if they continued. The General finally admitted their plan to complete the construction and use it as a base to explore further into the Wildes. Cherub managed to make a deal with the General in order to keep the humans safe; they could create a small base using the materials they had already brought over, but they were to bring nothing else, and they were not allowed to cut down any more trees. The humans largely upheld their deal, until very recently.
Binds and Burning
The humans broke their promise. Another axe fall against a tree, and that was it. The decision was made. Cherub was incredibly bitter over the broken promise and refused to speak with the humans. The Seraphim instead sent Throne, their younger son, to give the humans a single day to go back to the human world, or die. Throne approached the humans, and when he told them this, the General ordered an attack. Throne was bound with magic the humans had gained from elsewhere, and then they killed the angel. EdNo1
The Angels felt this instantaneously. The arc began humming, and the Angels prepared for a battle. Cherub, in grief and fury, led the charge against the humans, and consumed the General's heart himself. Once the humans were dead, the burning began. The building was burned down first, and became Throne's grave. The angelfire spread through the trees. We all felt the ache. The burning. The Wildes screamed for two whole days, until the Elementals moved in and stopped the spread by splitting the earth and pushing the flames away with fire and water.
The Aftermath
The Angels became quite dormant after the death of Throne. They are in a state of mourning, with wings folded and eyes closed, remaining on the Arc. It will be another couple thousand years before the Seraphim regrows enough of their halo to produce another child to take Throne's place beside Cherub, and another thousand before they will become in tune enough to be able to merge into the new Seraphim. Throne's loss is a shock and a massive detriment to them.
The Charred Woods remained a smoking, ashen land. The Light Woods had been nearly entirely decimated by the angelfire. The burnt land was abandoned by the majority of Wilders, though fire-aligned Wilders eagerly moved in. There are rumors of what happened to the Faer Mirror; that the Faeries retrieved it, that the Queen herself took it, that it was hidden in the Hall of Mirrors, or that it was destroyed in the angelfire. We do know that it is no longer accessible, and that no one has found it. Humans have stopped arriving in large groups now that the Mirror is gone. We can only hope that this phase passes quickly.
Editor's Notes
0. This is a record summary, and has been translated to a modern dialect and tone for ease of access.
1. It's not clarified in the record how exactly humans killed Throne. There is currently no known way to kill an Angel, and it's unsure where the humans received this information or their magic. The current theory is that the second edition of the book omitted data that could have been considered a threat to the Angels.
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