Grimoires and Gunsmoke

“Apostle!” The little fairy snapped angrily as it buzzed out of the interrogation room. “How could you just…! Just stand there and allow these stupid… STUPIDS, treat me in such a manner!?” She yelled and pointed an accusatory finger at her claimed human.

Elijah however, just stood there unimpressed while the military police donning riot gear flailed around helplessly trying to put out the strange fire or swat away at the ice spreading on their person. “Can you put them out please?” He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Things are gonna get really complicated for me if any of them actually get hurt or die.”

However, the great Yanaiyániuoa face just contorted more angrily. “Those idiots insulted me with their stupid questions! I’m a goddess! A real goddess! Not one of those stupid pretenders that need mortals to keep praying to them!” She barked with shrill indignation. “They should be bowing, worshiping and offering tributes, not daring to question my divine presence!”

A hollow and empty look of resignation was spread across Elijah’s face as he just stared at the tiny goddess with a blank look. The entire day had been the epitome of a horrible drug fueled hallucinogenic trip. One he couldn’t wake up from.

“Okay look, Yana,” Elijah sighed. “You need-”

“YANA! ?” The goddess bellowed angrily with her eyes flaring with violet fire as she hovered before Elijah, her tiny form radiating a fierce energy that belied her size. "How dare you! Do you not understand the disrespect you show to my divine being with such casual familiarity!?"

Elijah, however, remained unfazed by the outburst as he stared at her with a level gaze. "Look," he sighed, placing his hand to his head to dispel his headache. "By your own admission, you’ve lost basically all of your power. ” Elijah continued as agitation started to swell inside him. “And somehow, you’ve managed to drag me into whatever bullshit… this is!” The man then gestured around him as the soldiers in the hallway continued to struggle with the aftermath of the little goddess’ display of power. They were frantically slapping at small patches of fire that kept springing up onto their equipment and brushing off chunks of ice that had formed on their armor.

But worst of all, the hallway beyond was a scene of destruction, marred with scorch marks, pockmarked with bullet holes, and smashed by concussive forces.

“So we!” Elijah gestured aggressively to himself and Yana, “and I actually mean WE, are not exactly in a position to demand anything right now! So can you PLEASE stop doing whatever it is you’re doing to them?”

Yanaiyániuoa continued to hover in front of Elijah’s face with her arm’s fold and a snarl on her face. "Hmph," she huffed, turning her head away in a haughty fashion, but with a flick of her hand, she gestured towards the soldiers, and dispelled the creeping elements that plagued the poor souls. “Annoying! I have the most annoying mortal ever!”

As her magic unraveled, Yanaiyániuoa continued to grumble. "And this stupid world! Why don’t my curses and soul magic work on any of you!?" she complained, her voice a mix of frustration and bewilderment. "It's stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

“Fuck off before she changes her mind.” Elijah said to the soldiers as he watched the chaos from the fairy’s magic subside. “And tell the spooks to stop sending fucking MP’s down here! Nothing you’re gonna do is gonna work!” He pointed to the section leader with his entire hand. “Just let me talk to her, okay?”

The MPs, still regaining their composure, turned to Elijah with a mixture of relief and apprehension. The Captain of the section was a veteran, accustomed to high-stress situations for a multitude of theaters, but here, he was clearly out of his depth in this supernatural scenario, and gave a firm nod in acknowledgment.

"Understood…" the Captain replied, his tone indicating both his reluctance to leave the situation unresolved and his desire to avoid further confrontation with this… fairy. "This shit is way above our pay grade anyways."

Elijah exhaled deeply, maintaining his composure as the soldiers slowly regrouped and started to retreat while glancing at the fairy with a mix of disbelief and unease. And as the last of them disappeared around the corner, Elijah turned to face Yanaiyániuoa, who was still hovering with folded arms and an indignant expression. "Yana," he began, his voice calm but firm, "we really need to work together on this. I know it's frustrating to not be worshiped or whatever anymore, but causing a scene like this isn't helping our situation."

The little goddess’ eye twitched at the casual shortening of her name as she continued to glare daggers at her human. “You are the WORST apostle, ever.” She hissed. “I give you the gift of my divine blessings and authority and this is how you treat me!?”

“Gift?” Elijah raised an eyebrow, matching his patron’s heated gaze with an annoyed one. “Yana, this is a gift I neither ask for, NOR wanted,” he replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice and a roll of his eyes.

"You!!!” Yanaiyániuoa arms shot to the side in anger. ”You ungrateful little human!" She exclaimed in outrage. "You should be honored to merely be in the presence of someone as great as me!"

As the two bickered, Yzael continued to watch the scene unfold from her vantage point with a face clouded in disbelief and fascination. The fairy just down the hall was an supposed all-powerful being straight out of ancient tomes and lore that had been spoken from scholars in an effort to scare students away from that brand of magic.

But here Yzael was, staring at Yanaiyániuoa. An entity that predated even the most ancient records of High Elven society. To see the goddess, albeit diminutive and currently engaged in a petty squabble, was nothing short of astonishing.

While Yzael was absorbing the fact she was staring at a living breathing deity squabble with some mortal, the elf decided to enhance her perception and see if she could glean anything interesting. "Súlë Níra,"she silently whispered an incantation in her native tongue under her breath. This enchantment, also known as the ‘Eye of the Star’ in common, would amplify her vision and allow her to see the subtle flow of magical energies that may be invisible to the naked eye. As the spell took effect, her eyes shimmered momentarily, and the world around her gained an additional layer of depth.

And with that, any lingering doubt was suddenly dispelled. The mana in the air, the residual energies from the fairies outburst, took on the ancient profiles of the same magics she studied in secret.

Meanwhile, Yanaiyániuoa, in her tirade against Elijah, proclaimed, "You're such a stupid, stupid head! So stupid that you don't even realize the grandeur of being blessed by me!” She thrust her finger at her human one more time. “You’re such a stupid, you don't even realize you’re standing in front of a goddess, and you treat my gift like it's stupid, like you-"

Abruptly, her rant was cut short. Feeling a faint flow of magic, the little goddess immediately snapped her head in Yzael's direction and narrowed her. The subtle spell was meant to be undetectable, but somehow… it caught the attention of The Great Yanaiyániuoa's divine senses, despite her diminished power.

Fear coursed through Yzael as she immediately ducked away.

She had been noticed….

Reacting immediately, she made for her retreat and spun around to make a run for it, but… Just in front of her was The Great Yanaiyániuoa, her tiny form radiating a powerful presence that belied her size. The fairy goddess floated gracefully in front of Yzael, mere inches away from her face, with a smug smile playing on her lips. The goddess’ glowing violet eyes inspected Yzael up and down, taking in every detail with a sharp and discerning gaze.

Yana's expression shifted from smugness to a more contemplative one as she observed Yzael. "My, my," she began, her voice laced with a mix of surprise and a hint of respect. "The children of my former worshippers have come a long way." Her eyes focused on the elf, detecting the potent and finely tuned mana that coursed through Yzael. It was clear to her that despite being locked away along with those she deemed traitors, the descendants of her followers had not been idle.

"It seems that after locking me away, your kin and those other traitors haven't been resting on your laurels too much," Yanaiyániuoa commented playfully. Her gaze lingered on Yzael, as if seeing through her, recognizing the depth of her power and the legacy it represented.

Caught off guard by this sudden face-to-face encounter with a being of legend, Yzael struggled to find her voice. She was aware of the weight of history that hung between the shared past of her people and this ancient goddess. But that seemed to matter little at the moment. All that she could think of was just how absolutely fucked she was in this currrent moment.

Gathering as little courage as she could, Yzael opened her mouth in an attempt to save her own soul. "Oh G-Great Y-Yanaiyániuoa,” she stuttered with wide eyes. “I-I am Yzael of the High Elves, j-just a simple arcane user detached from those who plotted against you!" Her words were careful, respectful, and tinged with a healthy dose of fear.

Yzael's heart raced as she spoke, knowing full well the volatility of the deity before her. "Your recognition of our progress, while it is an honor, it's also... quite overwhelming," she added, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Yanaiyániuoa observed Yzael's reactions, her smug smile turning into an amused grin. "Overwhelmed? Oh, you should be!" The goddess said gleefully as she twirled around playfully. Her violet eyes seemed to glow brighter as she floated closer, inspecting Yzael with a curiosity that felt almost invasive. "A simple arcane user, you say? Detached from the old conflicts? How quaint."

Before Yzael could open her mouth and respond, Elijah's voice suddenly echoed from behind her. "Yana! What the hell are you doing, and where the hell did you go?" His tone was a mix of confusion and frustration. “Wait, how did I even know where to find you?"

However, before Yzael could turn towards the sound, the little goddess reached out and touched her face. A flash of violet light enveloped the area, and Yzael felt an overwhelming surge of energy penetrate into her mind and soul. Her vision blurred, and she collapsed to the floor, barely managing to prop herself up with her hands while her pupils glowed with a violet luminescence.

Still floating above her, Yanaiyániuoa wore a contemplative expression, seemingly ignoring Elijah's questions. "Hmm, why couldn't I gain complete control over her?" she mused aloud, seemingly more preoccupied with this new puzzle than with Elijah's presence.

Elijah, utterly baffled, demanded, "Yana, what the hell just happened?” He demanded rubbing his eyes from the bright flash before furrowing his brow.

But Yana seemed lost in thought, floating in circles before she screamed in realization . "AHHH!! THIS HUMAN! THIS WORLD! THEY TOOK ALL OF IT!!!" she concluded, her face shifting from contemplative to horror. Suddenly, she bolted to Elijah and started to beat on his forehead with her tiny fists. "Stupid, stupid, stupid human! Your stupid world! It's all your stupid fault!" She shouted in a shrill voice, as her tiny fists hardly made any impact.

“Can you…!” Elijah grimaced and swatted at the fairy. “Can you fuckin’ stop!”

In the aftermath of the soul and mind control spell, Yzael found herself struggling to cling to the fringes of her consciousness. The ancient energies that Yanaiyániuoa had unleashed swirled chaotically within her, threatening to pull her deeper into a disorienting maze. Yet, grounded by the need to save her friend, Yzael held on to the small fragment of awareness amidst the turmoil.

The poor elf could do nothing but stay focused on grounding herself while the voices of the goddess and that unknown human continued to echo around her. She couldn’t comprehend what exactly they were bickering about, but the tone and intensity of their argument suggested a deep frustration, perhaps even a history between them.

“Ugh! You’re impossible!!” The fairy lamented dramatically. “Of all the mortals that could exist, I had to end up with the most stubborn, annoying buffoon!”

Elijah, seemingly already used to such outbursts, responded in exasperation. "Excuse you. You have no one to blame but yourself for this.."

Yanaiyániuoa growled as she floated around Elijah in a huff, her tiny form casting flickering shadows in the bright corridor. "If I had half the mind, I’d be done with it and incinerate you where you stood!” She barks, jabbing another finger. “But I've foolishly invested too much into you already!”

“Does this empty vessel have any idea how much energy it takes to bind an apostle!?” She yelled, bonking him on the head with her tiny fists. “Let alone one from another plane of reality!? I can't just outright kill you and find another!! That would be such a waste!"

Suddenly, Yanaiyániuoa's demeanor changed dramatically. Her eyes widened, and she clutched her head, letting out a shrill scream of mental anguish. "GAHHHH! THAT'S RIGHT!!! This is another world!" she yelled in remembrance of her own folly. "Oh all the stupid things I could bind!" Yanaiyániuoa wailed. "A stupid human from a stupid reality that doesn't even acknowledge my existence!”

As the fairy's outburst resonated in the corridor, Elijah just stood there with his arms crossed with an expression that said he was the very visage of exasperation. “You literally did this to yourself,” Elijah began, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

But before he could further elaborate on his point, Yanaiyániuoa cut him off with a sharp and loud "Shut up!" and smacked him on the head once more with her tiny fist before turning her attention back to the high elf who was still shaking like a leaf on the floor. The poor girl’s face was a mixture of horror and pain as Yanaiyániuoa scrutinized her with a calculating gaze.

“Hmmm….” The fairy hummed in a moment of contemplation, before clapping her hands together. "I have decided," she announced with a flourish. "You shall be my servant!"

Elijah, perplexed by this sudden turn of events, interjected with a confused and incredulous expression. ".... but why...?" he asked, his voice trailing off as he tried to make sense of the goddess's whimsical decision.

Yanaiyániuoa turned sharply to Elijah, her eyes flaring with annoyance. "I said shut up! Apostles are meant to be seen, not heard!" she retorted with a tone that brooked no argument.

“What the fuck am I? A battered housewife?” Elijah muttered under his breath before glancing at Yzael. “Ya well, you can’t have her.” He said matter of factly swatting the fairy out of the air. “She's a prisoner of war or… spook science experiment or some shit.”

The fairy recoiled from Elijah's swatting, but quickly fluttered back into the air with an expression of pure outrage. Her tiny face twisted into a scowl, her glowing violet eyes flared with a mix of anger and disbelief. For a moment, she was seemingly at a loss for words from such transgressions, before she finally burst out.

"You...!" she began, her voice rising in pitch and volume. "You are the rudest, most insufferable human I have ever encountered!" Her tiny hands balled into fists, shaking with indignation. "Rude! Rude, rude, rude, rude, rude!" she repeated, each word punctuated by a point towards Elijah.

Elijah simply rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the elf, who was still visibly shaken and disoriented from the fairy's spell. He carefully grabbed her arm and lifted her up and nearly balked at how compliant she was for being incapacitated. The elf’s response was almost robotic, lacking the typical resistance one would expect from someone suddenly hoisted to their feet.

“.... Huh…” Elijah remarked to himself in wonder while his patron continued to yell at him.

As he observed the elf’s terrified, yet vacant expression he gently guided, and moved her around the hall in an experimental fashion with an eerie, automated compliance. "It's like she's a robot... or something… " Elijah said, scratching his beard.

With an expression of a blend of concern and suspicion, Elijah's gaze shifted to Yana "What did you do to her?" he asked the fairy, his tone slightly serious now. "It’s not permanent is it? They’re going to be pissed if it's permanent.” He said continuing to move the elf around. “She's just... following along."

Still fluttering in the air,Yanaiyániuoa watched the interaction with a mix of irritation and curiosity. She sighed dramatically, her tiny hands on her hips. "I dominated her soul," she declared with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But apparently, I didn't have enough power to do it properly, so she's stuck in this limbo state. Not quite here, not quite... wherever." The fairy threw her hand over her shoulder in an aloof manner.

Her glowing violet eyes then fixed on Elijah, her expression turning from annoyance to outright disdain. "But that’s not the problem right now!" she pointed at him accusingly. "You are the problem! You're a terrible apostle! How am I supposed to regain my powers with someone like you!?"

Elijah, who was still experimentally moving Yzael around, stopped and looked at his supposed ‘goddess’ with a raised eyebrow. "Me? I didn't ask for any of this, remember? You're the one who decided to 'bless' me, or whatever," he retorted in an uncaring and monotone fashion. “I’m the property of the US of A, you’re gonna have to negotiate with them first.”

Yanaiyániuoa stared blankly at Elijah in absolute and utter confusion. "Negotiate? With... the what of what what?" she sputtered, her voice rising in pitch. “What do you mean I have to negotiate with someone? I claimed you!" She floated energetically around Elijah, her arms flailing as if she were shuffling invisible objects in the air to emphasize her point. "The entire point of claiming someone who hasn't been claimed is to be able to claim them and have them be yours!"

A mix of sadistic amusement started to spread on Elijah’s face as he watched her animated display. He knew for a fact the coming shit show between him and command was going to be BIBLICAL and he’d be getting front row seats. "Yeah, well, that's not how it works here. You can't just go around claiming people willy-nilly, especially not when they're already under the jurisdiction of a government like mine."

Yzael, still in a daze, continued to stand limply, her eyes unfocused and distant, a bystander to the bizarre exchange unfolding before her.

“This is…!” Yanaiyániuoa huffed, her tiny hands on her hips as she floated back to face Elijah. "This is preposterous! I am a goddess! I do not negotiate! Especially not with mortals!" Her voice was filled with indignant outrage, her eyes blazing with the same violet light that had overwhelmed Yzael. “I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO WHOEVER'S IN CHARGE! TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!”