You stared at the runes before you, wishing beyond all hope that you weren’t reading them right. There was a pretty good chance of that, after all. They were hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, in a language no one spoke anymore. You were probably pronouncing them all wrong, too.

This was the first time you’d encountered one of these asexual individuals yourself. You’d heard all about them from those Fey beneath you, though you’d always treated them as nothing more than myths or folktales. You knew that they could fall for the same romantic traps as anyone else, but it was the child-making that filled them with no interest.

“There’s an elegant simple-mindedness to your logic, respectfully. I am fully aware of the magic I can wield, and I understand entirely that the person I’ve chosen pales in comparison to countless others in that same regard. But that isn’t what love is.

You weren’t sure when you received the title or how. You didn’t know where your power came from or why. You only understood what your role was, and nothing more.

The knight glanced past the dragon. Sure enough, there was a princess there in the cave. She wore the typical princess outfit, with the long, stiff dress and the poofy shoulders. Even the tiara on her head was as usual as they got, a silver accessory decorated with tiny rubies and emeralds.

The council of elders had all gathered around their newest inductee to the academy. Some had ventured from distant lands with intrigue in their hearts, while others were there to bring back news that would dispel rumors in their homelands. Most of the elders, however, were there for safety.

You had centuries worth of experience, literal decades alone spent terrorizing a distant countryside that had long since been taken over, renamed, taken over again, and ultimately burned down. You knew how to disarm a knight with a flick of your tail, disrobe them from their armor with a gnash of your teeth, and disembowel them with a slash of your claws. But never in your life had you had to deal with such an odd situation.

The priest kept silent as he circled the basket before him. His finger raised as he kept a silent count in his head, picking out each yipping mouth that lunged hungrily for the extended digit. His gaze narrowed further and further as the basket’s total reached four, then eight, then fifteen.

The village seemed peaceful enough from the outside. There were farmers in the fields, tending to the crops with gentle hands. Children were playing in the streets, kicking around balls or rolling hoops along the ground. On the air, the soft chatter of the adults reached your ears. You could hardly pick out any one conversation, but none of them seemed willing to cause harm.

“It is written in the Book of the Holy God that, once every one hundred years, the Dark Lord shall return, and the chosen one shall rise up to vanquish him before he can eradicate humanity.”

You were sitting at a bar with your friend when you broke the news to him. At first, he hadn’t believed you, which was typical for an elf. Far be it for them to accept stories outside of their own culture. However, as the realization set in, he finished off his glass of wine much faster than any you’d ever seen him drink before.

It had been decades since he’d last heard such a terrifying noise, yet he recognized it as clearly as if it were yesterday. He bolted upright in bed, hand instinctively reaching for a sword which no longer hung at his waist, and instead rested upon the wall.

She went by many names, that goddess of humanity. Some called her Mother Earth, while others recognized her as the Great Creator. She was kind, benevolent, and perfect in every way. All who knew her saw no wrong, and all who followed took no lives. So long as she remained healthy and happy, the world had no evil.

The cave had its reputation for a reason. Knights and travelers alike were wary of the beast that lay within. None dared trespass upon the dragon’s lair lest they become a sumptuous snack.