It had been very long since the st person had ever denied Feru and while the fairy Paragon could ask just about anyone in the vilge for a rumble in the sack she was feeling rather miffed that she'd been stood up. A smart thing to do would be go home and, well do anything except what she was about to do.

  "Raaaaaynalllll. Why did the human have to come to you centaurs first? Us fairies could have shown him the best parts of this world."

  Of course Feru had teleported into Raynas home and unceremoniously thrown herself face first onto the closest pillow.

  The centaur in question was calmly moving stones around in a game Feru had never learned how to py while watching a wall mounted mirror that swirled with mist. A scrying gss that had been blinded momentarily.

  "Aaaahhhh. It's so frustrating." The fairy compined into the fabric.

  "I presume this is about Lazarus? I wasn't expecting him to pass through your territory." Rayna offhandedly remarked voiding her stones to the far side of the room. It would be hard to concentrate with her new guest.

  "More like Seveneth invited him but that's not important." Feru pulled herself from the pillows she was currently in. "What's important is there's a human alive right now and he won't have sex with me. Like what kind of creature do you have to be to say no to me?"

  Rayna pulled the clothes Feru left on her st visit out of her internal storage and threw them at the sulking fairy with a flick of her wrist. "One that values his herd above a quick fling."

  Truth be told Rayna was overjoyed Lazarus had refused Ferus advances. It showed his integrity and loyalty to those who were dedicated to him. It was also something she was struggling to hide from the fairy as a smile threatened to creep it's way onto her lips every time she thought about it.

  "But I could show him so much more than all of his girls combined." Feru sulked.

  "Oh. Could you now?"

  The room darkened slightly at Raynas question. The hidden threat hiding just below the surface.

  "I mean, I could show him how to please multiple woman at the same time. That's what you centaurs like right." Feru tried to weasel her way out of the hole she had started to dig.

  Rayna rolled her eyes allowing the room to return to it's original shade.

  "Good. Now apart from wanting to compin did you have another reason...."

  Rayna was interrupted by the mirror clearing away to reveal Lazarus and Kayalett together.

  "The curse doesn't effect you. You will be able to father our children without any problem."

  Kayaletts words silenced the two Paragons. They both knew the ramifications of those words for both good and bad. For Feru it was the threat of other races finding out this information. It was agreed by everyone at the time that the curse was a good idea, even if it was terrible for humanity. A war over Lazarus this close to her territory was not what the fairy needed especially as she was still trying to bring her species back to reasonable numbers after the st one.

  Rayna on the other had had the complete opposite reaction. His herd would flourish. It would bring travelers from all over to her vilge and when it because know he was a god. Well Zemelly would make sure any and all priestesses were welcomed with open arms while Arath would have her pick of Even some of the more challenging creatures to join their herd. Even if some started trouble she was more than enough to stop them, and when he beat her. Well Rayna almost felt bad for whoever was dumb enough to think he would just lie down and take it.

  "Rayna I know you're protecting Lazarus but this could be very bad. If the world found out a breed-able human lives, it could spell a war. He's still within my vilge, we can go quickly and make sure...."

  Feru didn't get to finish before Rayna summoned her own bonded weapon, a scythe easily the same size as herself with a bde that looked like it was dipped in bck ink and had it against the fairy Paragons throat.

  "Finish that sentence and I will personally make sure there will never be another Paragon of your species ever."

  Feru swallowed audibly against the cool metal. The st time she'd seen this weapon a lot of things fairy and otherwise had died. It was also the calm way Rayna had just threatened the entire fairy popution without so much as batting an eye that had her still.

  All these moments of thinking they were friends and here was Feru, feeling the exact same as she had been when it became known she was the new Paragon while staring at a centaur that held her life in her hands. The Paragon killer.

  Taking a long while to structure her response, time Rayna didn't seem to care about as she'd gone back to watching Lazarus in the mirror. Feru finally responded when she noticed the bright smile on the centaur. One she'd never seen before on this particur mare.

  "You like him don't you. That's why you're so protective."

  It wasn't a question as Feru had seen enough romance to know the look. It just surprised her that Rayna was experiencing it after all of her failed attempts to get her to start courting.

  "Come. Let me show you something." Rayna stated ignoring her while dismissing her scythe and walking through a hole in the fabric of reality she just tore.

  Feru just stared. No one else would calmly tear apart the universe like it was commonpce. She did hurry up and follow when she noticed it getting smaller.

  Once inside she found herself on a stone ptform illuminated only by a fire pit in the middle burning with purple fmes. To one side the ptform continued into darkness while the rest of the ptform was surrounded by still water.

  "Where are we?" The question fell from Ferus lips when she noticed all of her teleportation abilities couldn't be used.

  "A personalized dimension. A side project I've been dedicating my spare time to. Now though it has become a much more pressing topic." Rayna answered sending a fsh of light into the distance.

  Before Feru could reply a pink haired woman appeared besides them, her bottom half trailing off into mist.

  "I have had some help. Unfortunately creating things is not really my style."

  That was an understatement. Feru thought to herself but was smart enough not to mention it out loud.

  The djinn smiled at the pair, the tips of her lips going just a little bit past her face. Feru tried to smile back but she knew it looked forced.

  It would be so easy for Rayna to imprison her here as she couldn't escape. A fact that kept burning in the back of her mind.

  "But distractions." Rayna continued waving her hands in the air and moving along the only path on the ptform. As she moved hidden torches lit up on both sides with the same purple fmes. "This wasn't just made for me as you'll see soon enough."

  Feru followed giving the djinn a wide berth as the strange woman continued to smile in her direction but made no move to follow the pair herself. Once she was slightly happy with the distance between herself and the pink haired woman Feru allowed the shiver to pass through her spine that had been waiting to come out.

  The path continued for a bit, neither bending or turning. Just straight with the purple fmes just close enough that the next could be seen when one lit up. Besides them the water seemed to go on forever with occasional ripples that didn't match any tide the fairy knew of.

  "Amazing isn't it?" Rayna asked. "If you feed a dimension enough elemental stones it will continue to grow. This one is roughly the size of the pins my city is located on and twice as deep."

  Feru just nodded stepping closer to the middle to the ptform. Water didn't scare the fairy but the things that lived in it did and with Rayna you could never be too sure.

  Eventually a building came into view hidden behind a white mist that revealed only the door. It did however give away the size of it to the fairy as she would probably be able to fit her entire species inside comfortably without any of them touching.

  "It's not ready yet and I'm hoping it will be by the time he returns but that might be wishful thinking." The centaur offhandedly remarked towards the gigantic building like it was no more than a fruit basket intended for a friend.

  Feru was at a loss for words. A building like this in a dimension compromised mostly of water. Just what in the forests lush grass was Rayna doing? Her question was slightly answered when the door opened from the inside revealing a creature Feru had never seen before. One that was close if not extinct already.

  "You have a unicorn?!"

  Zemelly had abandoned her charm that hid her horn not needing it within this dimension as only Rayna and the djinn could come and go at will.

  "Yes." Rayna replied to Feru before turning to Zemelly. "Can we see the inside?"

  That confused the fairy Paragon even more. Unicorns were technically centaurs and therefore under Raynas rule yet she was the one asking permission. It just didn't make sense.

  Zemelly gave Feru a side gnce but for her to be here she must hare Raynas permission so she didn't comment. "Of course, the main part is done but a lot of touchups need to be put in pce first."

  Zemelly pushed the door further open revealing the shimmering dress she wore. Jet bck with golden trims that seemed to glow in the purple light and captured the opel gems shaped like spikes that ran linier down the center of her back.

  Rayna followed Zemelly when the unicorn ducked back into the building leaving Feru alone outside. She thought quickly that she might be able to get back to where the ptform started and get the Djinn to send her back but that thought was crushed. She would never be able to survive if she did that. So taking a breath she entered the strange building.

  Inside was completely different from anything she expected. Although Feru could not tell herself what she was expecting it just wasn't this.

  Half the floor of the building on the right side was taken up by water that the glow from purple fmes outside torches could be seen in the depths. The other side was of course centaur sized in design but it reminded the fairy of the churches she'd visited within the elves territory, with pillows lined in neat rows instead of the usual piews and enough distance between them that the bigger species wouldn't accidentally touch another.

  But the star of the entire building came from the front. As dominating the entire wall and unmistakable was a statue of Lazarus riding Arath. The stone centaur holding her great shield protectively over one side of Lazarus's legs with a diligent watch in her unseeing gaze. Lazarus on the other hand had his give strapped to his back and the smile he never seemed to be without aimed right at his audience.

  It took all of three seconds for Feru to put it all together.

  "He's a god!" She yelled into the air. She then found Zemelly. "And you're his priestess."

  Zemelly chuckled. "Yes. I am Zemelly first priestess of Lazarus."

  The water within the church gave a lurched as Vataria broke it's surface.

  "Vataria. Second priestess of Lazarus." The leviathan hummed as her tentacles lit up with a white light that gave a better view of the statues.

  Feru was at a loss. Rayna had fought off gods before even coming close to killing a few of them and yet here she is making a pce of worship in her spare time.

  "Confusing right?" Zemelly asked coming up beside the stunned fairy. "I was to. Though Rayna would never serve a god. Was part of the reason I asked for her protection originally, but now she goes and finds a fledgling one."

  "I just...." Unable to form a sentence Feru just sighed. "This could turn out very bad."

  "Worse than it already is?" Rayna asked, her gaze still fixated on the statue. "The elves sit comfortably in their forest telling everyone that if they fall the world tree falls with them all the while the rest of the species that took part in their war are left to pick up whatever scraps they can. Tell me do you like the current powers in py?"

  Feru shook her head. She couldn't deny that she resented the elves for what they had done but she knew she couldn't do anything about it. Both her own strength and that of her people were cking when compared to the elves. Even after Raynas rampage they still recovered quickly.

  "Do you intend to start a war?" The fairy asked, trying to decide what she should do.

  "No. I just want a family." Rayna sighed turning away from the statue. "I've lived for a long time Feru. Way longer than even you think. I just want to come home one day and feel what others have."

  The fairy stayed silent. To her Rayna didn't look a day older than twenty five. She wouldn't dare try and guess the centaurs true age.

  "Lazarus has the potential to be more than even I can fathom. But that power is a double edged sword, one easily used for the wrong reasons. I want to help him cultivate in the correct direction, show him what life can really be about. But also, I have enemies. Not just here but back where the centaurs originally lived. So I need someone who can protect just as much as I can when they come looking."

  She left the next part unsaid but Feru understood. Any children she had would be a weakness they would exploit, so the father needed to be strong and it just so happened a god would fit that bill nicely.

  "Do you think he can be all that you want him to be without going too far?"

  Surprisingly it was Zemelly that had the answer. "That's why we're here. A god is swayed highly by his priestesses, and I know for a fact Vataria knows what happens when a god takes the dark path."

  The leviathan let out a huff of water that absolutely drenched the unicorn but missed everyone else.

  "Really? These are my nice robes."

  Vataria gave the leviathan equivalent to a smile before disappearing back into the depths.

  "Oi get back here."

  A pulse of blue light was her only response.

  "Bugger. If you'll excuse me." Zemelly said giving a bow then disappearing herself behind the statue.

  "I've shown you this as a friend." Rayna brought Ferus attention back to her once the unicorn was gone. "You have a choice, one that impacts your species and one that isn't easy to make. But as your friend I wanted to let you know I will not follow if you choose to relocate the fairies."

  Rayna was letting her run away Feru realized. To get away from all that was about to happen. To start fresh but in a new nd.

  "I like the words he used." Rayna continued. "The deck is stacked against him, feels fitting in this scenario. But o have a feeling he has a few aces up his sleeve."