Magic. 

That was the first thing it experienced. Perhaps the first thing it was.

Thoughts were next. Perhaps it was thoughts first, merely experiencing the magic before. Perhaps not. It couldn't tell. Were these all its thoughts? They carried so much Knowledge with them. Knowledge that must have come from outside this void of nothingness. 

Sensation arrived as soon as it had enough Knowledge to process them. The color Wintergreen swirling. A Spring breeze singing. Summer's warmth all around. The fruits of Autumn. Wonderful. Pleasant. It was these things. It wanted to protect these sensations. 

The sensations were filtering through something now. Wintergreen eyes beheld far more than their own color. Lovely birdsong and gay conversation echoed inside a hollow helm. The warmth of Summer flowed through the body like blood. The sweet Autumn air flowed into the magic within and imbued breath. It inhabited a Body now. All it lacked was Identity. 

It stepped out of nothingness, and beheld a reflective crystal. A hulking suit of Wintergreen armor stared back at it, the helm filled with whirling shadow save for two specks of light. It lifted a hand and found it held a greatsword adorned in branches and vines. Small antlers made of the same extended from the helm. It gazed into the crystal. It was a Fae Knight. It would protect. It would defend. It would serve the Fae. But, 'it' didn't seem right. 'She' seemed better. Yes. She was female. She stepped into the crystal, ready to begin existence. 

She flinched as the sensations of the world came to her, all at once. Sights, Sounds, Feelings, Smells and Tastes. All wonderful, but all so much. She had only just become aware of sensation, and this was almost overwhelming. But she walked regardless, walked to a point rallying within her mind, a point that despite never seeing she knew intrinsically. As she walked, she enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds of the grove around her, overwhelming as they were. Mystical trees, the songs of animals, the lovely flowers by her path. They made her feel happy. She was glad the first emotion she felt was happiness.

She wasn't the first one to arrive to the rally point. Three other fae were already there waiting. There was a pixie with soft brown moth wings calmly chanting to herself. There was an elf happily rolling around on the grass, laughing and playing with a squirrel. There was a beastfolk sharpening his claws on his arrows, keenly eyeing the clearing around them. He noticed her first and pointed her out to the others. She didn't like having so much attention on herself. It was so intimidating. But she was a Knight, so she should be used to that. That was her duty. She waved awkwardly. "...Hi..." 

The elf excitedly ran up to her. "Oooh, a Knight! That's so cool! What's your name?" She shyly looked away from the elf's enthusiastic face. "I... I don't know yet... I was just... made, I guess..." The elf laughed. "Well we were just made too! It's fun coming up with names! I'm Eerk! Like the noises my squirrel makes!" The beastfolk smirked. "I chose Clove. A nice, dependable plant." The pixie smiled gently. "And I decided on Saela. I just... like how the syllables sound." All of them looked expectantly at her, and she looked down nervously. "I... I don't know... I don't know if I'm ready for a name yet..." Saela gently put  their slender hand on her gauntlet. "That's okay. How about we just call you 'Knight' for now then? So we can speak to you easily?" She, Knight, nodded stiffly. "Okay... That sounds good..." The others smiled. Clove was about to say something when he noticed someone coming. "Hey, I think that's our leader." Knight looked behind her. It was another Fae Knight, but far more impressive...

Their leader was much larger than Knight, and her armor, or body, was far more decorated. Instead of branch antlers, she had small wings, as well as a wreath in the center. Her left shoulder was cracked, a soft glow visible underneath, and her blade shone like the sun. Most impressively, on her back were four majestic wings, the top two brilliant white and feathered, and the bottom two intricate moth wings. She had no mouth, like Knight, but as she gazed down upon them, her eyes smiled kindly. "Hello, new recruits. I am General Bethany. I have rallied you all here for a simple mission to sharpen your skills. We have noticed a Crimson Horn patrol scouting uncomfortably close to this glade here." Clove nodded. "So we're to kill them then? Alright." General Bethany gently shook her head. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but there will hopefully be no need for bloodshed. All you will need to do is persuade them not to scout around this area. With the talents you each possess, I believe you will be able to do so quite easily." Knight was confused. "...You want us to talk with them?" Saela laughed. "I believe she means enchanting them." Knight looked at the ground. "...I don't know if I'm able to do that..." Bethany leaned down to her. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. I myself know how effective a Fae Knight can be at pacifying threats." Bethany gently squeezed the air with her hand, and Knight suddenly felt a powerful soothing sensation, like a hand was massaging her mind. Her eyes dimmed and her body relaxed, her thoughts temporarily held in place. It kind of reminded her of how it was back before she was made...

Bethany slowly unclasped her hand, and Knight's mind began to move again. She looked up at Bethany in wonder. "Can I do that?" The General smiled. "Probably not to that degree of precision yet, but indeed. Just because you wield a blade doesn't mean you have to fight with your brawn." She stood back up and looked over the unit. "Any more questions before we embark?" Eerk raised her hand. "Uh... What if we fail?" Bethany nodded. "Good question. We'll have some of our avian scouts keeping an eye on the battle. If they see things start to go poorly, we'll send in some reinforcements to help. And I'll make sure to give you some tactical advice before the fight as well, to make sure you're prepared." Clove perked up at this. "Tactical advice? Like what?" Bethany gestured for the group to follow. "I can tell you as we walk to the vantage point. I think first of all, a few sleep arrows from you before you engage..." Clove listened intently to her, while Eerk practiced her birdsong. Knight felt Saela's hand on hers again. "We're all nervous too, don't worry. I know you'll do great, Knight." Knight smiled shyly down at her. "...Thanks."

Several minutes later, the four were on top of the vantage point, the Crimson Horn patrol visible in the distance, completely oblivious. Clove was going over the plan for the third time, ensuring everyone knew what to do. It was a bit annoying, but Knight felt safer knowing that one of them felt confident in what to do now that General Bethany had sent them out on their own. As the patrol approached, Knight was glad to see that the information they had about it was correct. Only 5 warriors, 6 counting the imp on the leader's shoulders. ...And technically 7 counting the horse one of them was riding. But that didn't matter. They knew what to do. Clove looked at them, nodded, and drew his bow.

A shimmering arrow shot forth and impacted the horse rider directly in their forehead. Not a drop of blood came out, and they slumped over, unharmed but in a deep, deep sleep. The patrol began to look around for what happened, weapons at the ready, and the fae leaped out to attack. Eerk began singing a beautiful song that called to the heart of nature. The humans were unaffected, but their horse was quickly brought under her spell, throwing off the sleeping rider and knocking out the archer as he aimed his bow. A footman charged at Knight and slammed his blade into her. She hardly felt it and retaliated with a blunt strike of her own, knocking him to the ground. The pyromancer prepared to launch a fireball, but their focus was pulled away by a shimmering mist surrounding their head, their magic melting out of their hands as their mind fogged over. The captain, noticing Saela channeling the mist, charged at her. Knight held out her hand and tried to stun him, just like Bethany did... But it was so much harder than the General made it seem...

Knight felt like she was trying to restrain a wild animal as the captain's mind thrashed against her mental grasp. She tried to squeeze her fingers tighter, but it was like trying to crush a stone, and they hardly budged. Her hand trembled, and as she tried to focus as hard as she could, the imp waved their tail before the captain's face. A sensation like searing flame shot through her hand and she recoiled, freeing the captain. Before she could recover, the imp redirected the captain to her, and a sword coated in infernal flame slammed into her chest. She staggered backwards, barely managing to bring up her own, much heavier blade to block the next strike. "Knight! I'll come help- Ahh!" Eerk was struck from behind by the footman and knocked to the ground. Clove ran towards the footman, his shining eyes mesmerizing them while he extended his claws. Leaping onto the mesmerized human, he loudly clicked his claws before their eyes before pushing off of them to leap up onto the horse. The footman stumbled around, entranced but not completely hypnotized, and nearly collided with Saela. She yelped and quickly sent a burst of swirling light into his eyes, sending him into a deep slumber but breaking her focus. As Knight felt another flaming blow on her chest, she saw the pyromancer begin to channel another fireball... Targeted straight towards Eerk. 

With a burst of panicked adrenaline, Knight shoved away the captain and charged towards the pyromancer as fast as she could. The fireball grew larger and larger, and just as she was about to reach the pyromancer, it was fired. "NO!" Knight dove in front of the fireball... And it exploded, right on her chest. The force from the point-blank explosion painfully slammed her and the pyromancer into the ground.

Agony drowned out all other sensations as Knight lay there on the scorched earth. Her vision dimmed, and everything began to fade... Was Eerk okay...? Did she save Eerk...? That was all she cared about as she lay there, experiencing the worst pain she had ever felt... Her eyes dimmed... She could hear a lovely song in the distance... The lovely song of birds... They made her feel safe... They made her feel happy... Suddenly, she felt a pair of slender hands on her chest, and heard a gentle voice. Spiraling waves of soothing energy spread throughout her body, washing away all the pain and agony. Her vision grew brighter, and she saw Saela standing over her, chanting softly, the symbols on her wings glowing. Knight felt all better now...

Standing up, Knight quickly looked to see if Eerk was okay. To her relief, she was fine, currently using her enchanted song to distract the captain with birds. The birds all reflected her magic through their own song, and soon the captain was swaying as the mesmerized imp batted sleepily at the birds flying around her. A claw-click from Clove made the two fall fast asleep, the imp adorably curling her tail around the horns on the captain's helmet. Knight looked around the field, seeing all their foes unconscious or asleep. She sat down in relief, exhausted, as Eerk happily proclaimed their victory. Clove came over and Knight looked shamefully up at him. "...I'm sorry I couldn't hold the captain... I almost messed everything up..." Clove smiled kindly down at her. "Don't worry about it, you didn't mess anything up. We all adapted just fine to what happened. And besides, you definitely saved Eerk's life! You're the only one of us that could have taken that whole fireball and still lived." Knight nodded softly. "...thanks..." Saela gently put a hand on her shoulder. "We're all new too, remember? Don't blame yourself for what you couldn't do, be happy for what you managed to do to help us." She sent a soft pulse of relaxing magic through Knight, making her feel better. Clove smiled and looked at all of their sleeping foes. "Now all we need to do is convince them not to scout around here again. Saela, come whisper in their ears with me." Knight watched her friends go to plant suggestions, and then looked at her hand. Even with what Saela said, it was hard not to feel like she'd messed up... Like she wasn't good enough... But... They'd completed their mission, and she was the only one that really got hurt, and Saela healed her up anyway. So... She could let herself be happy about it. She liked happiness. It was her favorite emotion so far...