The next day we were ready to leave. It was nice and sunny as we stepped onto the road…

  “Um, you have a map Lily, right?” I asked. I had gotten so used to her planning I had not really bothered to get a map myself.

  “Yes, my lady!” Lily said and a map appeared in her hands. “I have talked extensively with Ivy and planned our trip. I even got some hints about the local wildlife and purchased spices to cook any monsters we might find.”

  Having servants was incredibly convenient. “Good job!” I praised her.

  “My ladies, I have got more. I purchased a high quality tent for you. It is magically reinforced and dampens the sound.” She added.

  “Uh, that sounds useful.” Lucy commented with a smirk while I fought a blush.

  “Uh yes. Good job Lily, good job.” I praised her again. “So, are we going to camp a lot? How densely populated is this area?” I asked.

  “The closer we get to the frozen wastes the fewer towns there will be. Further, we can travel faster by going through some wilderness instead of following roads.” Lily explained, while holding the map.

  “The wilderness has things to slaughter! More wilderness!” Shani cheered.

  “We will have inns for the first two days, then I propose we just cut straight north with a bit to the east to reach the grove.” Lily suggested.

  “I trust your navigation.” I said, then I looked at Lilith. “Is it ok if Lily plans our route? Is there anything specific you want to visit?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “It is fine. While I am curious to explore this realm, our mission to find and stop Beira takes priority. If we come across a place I would like to visit, or stay longer, I will let you know.” She replied.

  “Well then, onwards!” I proclaimed, then I looked at Lily, since she knew where to go. I heard a chuckle from Lucy, while Lily bowed and started walking.

  The fairy realm was interesting. Not all the land was claimed, or ruled, by someone. Archfey tended to have territory, like a nation. But there were independent cities and even people living in the wilderness.

  “Is hell similar?” I asked Lilith, as we walked.

  “Not all territory in hell is claimed, that part is similar, but usually there is a reason. If the land is not profitable, or of strategic use, why claim it? But here? When I look at the map I see forests that nobody wants. There are a lot of conflicts in hell to secure useful land.” She explained.

  “I bet a lot of those forests here have monsters in them.” Lucy mused.

  I nodded. “The fairy realm does have quite a bit of fertile land but it is filled with dangers. Also, there are less hospitable areas, like the frozen wastes.”

  “There is the sea of storms in the east!” Adhira added. “Can we go there at some point? I heard it’s pretty!”

  “What is the sea of storms?” Lucy asked.

  “It’s a part of the ocean with pretty heavy storms all the time. There are few islands there. I heard nothing survives if it does not have some resistance to lightning, or is pretty strong.” Adhira explained.

  “We should visit some time, but for now we have to deal with Beira. And recruit dryads.” I reminded them.

  We continued our journey but my mind was still occupied with this sea of storms. The fairy realm did not care much about normal climate zones. Some areas were simply filled with an element and changed the landscape. In between you had normal land but it was possible to step from a lush forest into a desert or a frozen wasteland.

  If I visited this sea of storms, could I harness the power there? Could I use it to get stronger? Maybe I could build a holiday home there, play a bit with lightning, enjoy the scenery… Actually, it might be a good place to find storm fey. Izanami hinted that my kind liked to wander though. Maybe I would run into some on the way. We did find Adhira inside a forest.

  Also, what kind of storm fey were there? I suspected some of them would like elves. I had no idea if there was a particular name for that kind of fey but they seemed rather common. Sprites had different affinities. What about something like a satyr? We saw some at Izanami’s palace but they seemed nature aligned. Nereids, nymphs and maybe sirens should all be water aligned. Hm. Maybe there were storm variants.

  And what about non-humanoid fey? I should definitely make sure to try to talk with any creature before we killed it. Especially Shani would slaughter first and ask questions… ok, she would not ask questions.

  Overall I was excited. The fairy realm would be a lot of fun to explore!