(FAE-Verse) The Tale of two Worlds

THE TALE OF TWO WORLDS

FAE follows the lives of several families living in the quiet, rustic little town of White River Valley. An eerie, rural community nestled deep into the valley forest. Nothing in this place is quite as it seems on the surface, and seven teenagers are about to find out exactly why. The mystery runs deep, but the connection between them all runs even deeper. One of those teens is a new girl in town, about to discover the truth about this place, and her own connection to it. Danger lurks beyond every shadow, and secrets remain locked behind every door. FAE is a modern fantasy epic that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

This is an outline of the story FAE and it's four parts. The 4th is less fleshed out than the rest, but we'll get there. I created this in 2017 after a number of different IPs, including Stranger Things and Dark, inspired me heavily. I also drew from IPs like Heroes when creating this modern fantasy epic. This is one of my most prized creations which I am ever-so proud of, but it is created to be a TV series, not really a novella or anything like that. For that reason it's exhausting to write out and gives my OCD hell because I'm not doing it the way it really needs to be done first, even if there may be a benefit to that process. But the story is dying to get out. No one but two other souls on the planet know a bit about this story and what happens, the layers of history behind it that seed factors thereafter which span generations, and in the case of the two worlds, time and space.

The following is a summary of FAE in order to get it off my chest so that I can pour my full and undivided attention into my KigaVerse material, because I have an absurd amount of stories to write there.

Hopefully in time, I can swing back to this and complete it before transferring it into novella form.

VOLUME ONE

EPISODE 1: What Am I?

We open at night with Mayor Miles Feltman. An old man who seems very spooked. He fixes a hefty brandy and our primary antagonist walks into his office and tells him it's time. From here we establish many main characters, including the Ross family who are moving into town. June, Phillip and their daughter Melanie. We also meet 4 young boys in Jason Elliot, Harry Miller, Pete Harper and Erik Moody.

It is soon established that Miles is missing when Sheriff Ben Miller (father of twins harry and Alexa) visits Miles' wife, Norma Feltman to unofficially take a report as it's been less than 24 hours. Here we have a lot of set-up and introductory stuff. Mel heads to the mall where she meets Alexa Miller and Becky Song, two girls her age. All the youth end up at the mall together and go to a beach later that evening. All day the boys have been griping about and discussing Erik's older brother, John Moody. Whilst there, Jason decides to actually do something about it and confront John. During the fight, Jason gets lucky and hits John pretty hard. John does not like being hit because his father, Hank Moody, is a violent drunk. With many people watching and Jason getting a pop from the crowd, John pulls a blade and sticks Jason in the side, causing a large commotion and clearing the beach fairly quickly.

Mel, aware that she has a gift, rushes to Jason and using only the touch of her hand against his wound, heals his injury and stops the bleeding. All of the youth characters witness this, and Mel almost regrets having had to do it because of the scene it created her first night in town. She runs home where her parents see Jason's blood on her hand and sleeve, and she pleads with them to tell her what she is.

EPISODE 2: Secrets

It would take me forever to go through the nuances of this one, but essentially; Mel is struggling to get her parents to level with her, June is freaked out because it's not time (she's a control freak). Meanwhile, after witnessing Mel's act of FAE magic, the kids in town are psychologically primed to begin taking an inventory of ALLLLLLLLLL the secrets the families and even youth in their town have. The topic of secrets is just rife on the tip of the tongue, and White River Valley is like one walking, talking, perpetual secret.... Literally. Later, different folks around the town swear they see Miles roaming the streets behaving as though in shock or high, or claim he has visited their property. They include Pete's mom, Ellen Harper, who is the niece of Norma Feltman.

Ben continues his investigation, now certain that Miles has gone missing, and not by choice. Late at night, Diana Miller is coming home from covering as Mayor (she is Vice Mayor), she is approached by our shadowy antagonist.

EPISODE 3: The Tree of Life

Ben continues his investigation, now certain that Miles has gone missing, and not by choice. Late at night, Diana Miller is coming home from covering as Mayor (she is Vice Mayor), she is approached by our shadowy antagonist.

Again Miles is seen, this time outside the bedroom window of Mel Ross, who is spooked and further alarms the teens to the fact that something strange is going on with the adults in their town.

Whilst routinely riding his bike through the trails of the forest and dicking around, Jason stumbles through a familiar clearing and finds a massive tree sprout with giant leaves protruding from the soil. This once dry patch of dirt in the middle of the forest, now also had lush grass and flowers growing from around the sprout. He is perplexed, and lingers to look around before a text from Harry pulls him into town again.

The teens are going to a party where Jessica Freeman, one of the teens from the beach party, makes fun of Mel, calling her a freak as her brother Brody Freeman watches on guard. Mel is torn apart, and as she is leaving, Jason's rage manifests into his FAE gift of pyromancy. His clinched fists begin to spark, smoke and try to catch ablaze, disrupting and horrifying the whole party as well as producing a cellphone video from the crowd. Brody wants to beat Jason up (again), but the hands have him freaked out. Everyone disperses for home.

That night, Jason shows Pete the Life Tree sprout, and both Miles and Diana abruptly return home. But something is odd about them both; downright creepy.

EPISODE 4: Calculated Chaos

Erik is struck by his father several times before John overpowers him and the boys take off together. Later the other boys see his black eye and Harry tells his father.

Miles and Diana maintain their jobs despite the disappearance scandal, and both provided flimsy excuses for their whereabouts. Despite all of this, they press on and issue several bizarre new city bylaws. One is a mandatory 9 o'clock curfew for all residents. And the other is an order to detain residents who are found in violation. Ben resists this strongly, but can legally do nothing.

Ben drives out to the Moody place and tells Hank in plain, if he ever touches his kids again, he'll beat him so bad he'll need a god damn wheelchair.

Many residents of the valley begin to display uncharacteristic, creepy behavior, chief among them, Ellen Harper, his deputy, Jack Elliot, as well as his primary dispatcher, Laura Elliot (uncle and mother of Jason). This is when many of the adults meet in Nathan Elliot's garage under the request of Ben Miller. Ben and Nathan want to form a small group of people they can trust to figure out wtf is going on, and how to protect their families from their own loved ones, let alone whatever is out there causing this. Ben describes what's happening to the town as "calculated chaos" as he lays out step by step who they have taken, and what they mean to the town and it's operations. They are able to positively identify at least one compromised individual in every major family within their immediate social networks. The entire group are troubled and resolve to protect the town.

Meanwhile, Jason and Pete show all the - even more concerned - teens the Life Tree, which in just a few days, has grown into a giant, robust tree with leaves roughly 6 feet long.

EPISODE 5: Paradigm Shift

All across town, people, old and young alike, begin to realize they have gifts of various kinds. Luke Elliot proposes to Molly Harper, and she says yes with teary eyes. Meanwhile the teens have begun to meet in the tree fort, utilizing the old meeting room to gather and plot their moves to protect themselves and figure out what is going on. The adults still meet regularly and in secret within Nathan's garage.

Whilst checking on the Life Tree one morning, Jason is startled by a mysterious Japanese man he has never seen before. The man wears strange grey robes that feel old fashioned nor futuristic; oriental nor western. They were a strange robes like that a monk would wear. He introduces himself as Saito, and when Jason askes who he is, Saito says he is "like him, but different". Saito explains to him that his town is in great peril, and the danger his friends have been sensing is very real. He tells him that he can help the people of the town, but he will need Jason's help to act as his emissary. Jason is nervous, unsure if this man is the one causing the problems in town or not. He flees, warning the others that day at a tree fort meeting.

Meanwhile, Diana Miller tells Ben she has answers for him on what's happening, and where she was. They get in a vehicle together and she has Ben drive a short while to the old access road leading out of town to the north and toward the old mine. They have a cryptic conversation that leads Ben to believe the woman sitting next to him is in no way his wife. Not anymore. She alludes to their children, their safety, and how it would be the end of Ben's world if anything were to happen to them. She tries to reinforce in Ben that protecting HIS family should be all that matters right now.

They arrive at the old Feltman slaughterhouse along the access road that hasn't been used since the 60s. When they get out, Diana leads him inside where many other residents are there, standing in anticipation of his arrival, but remain silent, robotic, as if possessed. She leads him into a room where a figure sits in an office chair with his back turned. Diana stands by his side, and the man rotates around, the same man who kidnapped Miles Feltman.

Alister Lokey (or, the Prime Fae puppeteering his body), introduces himself and explains everything to Ben. He tells him he is responsible for the disappearances, and that those taken become subjects under his control. He tells Ben it is a "paradigm shift" for the town. He tells Ben that he has allowed him to live freely because he needs an untampered agent who can move and operate free of suspicion and help him achieve his goals by disarming those who trust him, as well as using his position as Sheriff.

Ben is appalled and wants to refuse, but all around are his friends and his own wife. Alister makes it clear that if he does not cooperate to the fullest, his wife will pay to the fullest. Ben leaves the Feltman slaughterhouse alone and mortified. He has no idea what to do now.

That night, as Molly is making her way home from the gentleman's club she is approached by a largely unseen figure...

EPISODE 6: His Name Is Alister

On their way to the tree fort to meet the others, Jason and Pete encounter Saito on a forest trail. They are spooked by him still, but he tries to calm them by telling them he is not their enemy and it will soon be revealed to them as the truth. He also insists that they trust him by seeking out Hisao Song. That he will be able to tell them everything they need to know. He leaves the boys, stepping behind the trunk of a tree and vanishing.

The teens hold a meeting and the boys bring up Saito and Hisao. Becky agrees to have them speak to her grandfather and they go.

As the kids are talking to Hisao, the adults are meeting in Nathan's mancave. They both go over Alister, but Hisao goes into vast detail.

Ben is nervous and worries Alister has a mole in his group, but he has to fight, he has to resist what's happening, because he does not trust Alister to even spare his wife's life through whatever this is. He gets the adults up to speed on the fact that their loved ones are possessed by a lunatic madman occupying the young body of Alister Lokey, a figure no one can recall, even though the Lokey family is well-known part of their community decades ago. The last Lokey was an old lady who passed away.

Meanwhile, Hisao reluctantly shows the teens the Book of Fae an ancient, massive book fully bound and containing hundreds of thousands of pages. The ink on the pages cannot be read by any human eye or tongue, only that of a Keeper. Hisao explains that the residents of this town are not all human. Some come from another place, another world different form our own. He neglects to explain when, why, or how. He goes on to explain that the man they are all obsessed with his an entity possessing the body of Alister Lokey, a boy who once lived in this town.

Then he tells them that he if they have the time, he will tell them the entire story.

EPISODE 7: Generations Part 1

We go back thirty years to 1990. Most of the adults are now between the ages of 14 and 17, many 16. We get to see the valley in 1990, as well as almost every adult when they were teens. Right now, it seems apparent that everyone knows they are Fae and have gifts, although they don't turn life into a super powered circus. A census worker by the name of John T. Smith has been snooping around town. But we primarily follow the lives of two siblings to start. Alister and June Lokey.

June is 16, Alister is 19. But Alister has a one true love crush on Nancy Walsh, the girlfriend of Jacob Freeman.

At Jacob's party, June and Nathan Elliot are together whilst Alister embarrasses himself trying to flirt with Nancy, who humiliates him ruthlessly. Nathan won't get involved because Jacob is too influential and vindictive. Jacob and his jock buddies take Alister out to the woods in their cars. They claim to want to have a beer and hang out with him as a way to apologize and give him a decent time after the **** show back at the party. They beat him and take his cloths and shoes, leaving him in the woods.

Alister's anger and sorrow swells to extremes nearing a breakdown before something begins to beacon him, even speaking into his mind. it tells him to find it, and it will give him the power and respect he desires so greatly. Alister makes his way deep into the woods, cold, tired, body scraped up from the forest but he still presses on until he comes to an odd formation in the forest floor. As if something had been grown over for thousands of years. He begins to dig by hand, overturning chunks of moss and raking away moist soil until his hands touch an ancient stone. In that moment it was over.

The Prime Fae of Chaos possesses his mind and body.

That night at a big festival party, Alister finds some cloths in the first house he comes by, the O'Brien residence. He possess both Colleen and Gregory O'Brien before changing into a dapper suit and taking to the town to kill, possess and wreak havoc along with his puppeteer subjects.

EPISODE 8: Generations Part 2

As Alister is beginning his conquest, John T. Smith is revealed to be a government agent working for an unknown agency with clear interests in Fae experimentation.

As all hell is breaking loose, Saito arrives to help the towns people, and forestall Alister, who wants June Ross, her mother, or both. Saito tells June she has to leave town, and tells her how to do that. He also gives Miles Feltman a very specific set of instructions. He is to muster all the Fae in town using his ability, and get them to meet him at the town hall. Then get his wife to use her gift to make them all forget everything.

He goes to Nathan, tell him to use his silver tongue ability on John T. Smith to make him believe there is nothing of importance, interest or value in the Valley, and he needs to return to where he came from. In addition, he tells him he has one more task for him. Nathan goes to the town bus driver, Constance Harper, and convinces him that he has to take a small load of passengers out of town.

Meanwhile June is performing a rite at the the Life Tree which Saito told her would allow her to leave. Same time everyone is gathering in the town hall where Miles and Norma await. As she is speaking into a microphone through loud speakers to the entire town's Fae population, telling them that they have no gifts; there is nothing special about any of them, Alister is being deceived by Saito and the parents of our now young adult cast, and defeated. His body is gassed to sleep and he is loaded on a bus with John T. Smith, June, Mitchell Lokey and Constance Harper. Constance drives the bus out of town, and the rite seals the town shut for 30 years. No one can leave or return, and no one can remember what they are, or who Alister Lokey was.

Aside from June, Alister, and Mitchell Lokey who passed away, only Miles, Hisao Song and Nancy Freeman still have their memory of what happened. Nancy secretly had ear plugs in for Norma's speech, and has been taking advantage of the opportunity ever since.

(Mel's family possesses a royal bloodline from the House of Order. It is why the Chaos Prime needs females of her bloodline. His actual, Prime Fae body is sealed in a temple deep under the forest. It was sealed by her ancestors, and only they can open it. When Katie Lokey passed away, the Life Tree here in Earth Realm withered and died, effectively making all Fae gifts inert anyway. When June and Mel return, the Life tree seed germinates once again and gifts begin to reboot.)

EPISODE 9: Roots

Up until now, Ben and Nathan's group have not trusted the Ross family. As they are meeting, Jason brings all the kids and Hisao, that all the adults might be caught up, and everyone unified in their knowledge and ability to fight back.

Everyone discusses the roots they all share going back to 1990, and the meaning of what they are. The adults are put off by all of it, especially the revelation that their memories were wiped. They all feel a swell of natural resentment toward Miles and Norma, but Hisao, with great, clear regret and guilt, tells them there was no other way to protect the town from Agent Smith, as well as Alister. Stuart Harper is crushed that his father was sent away, and by Nathan Elliot, the man standing across the table from him. This is the firs time a clear division between the townsfolk occurs and is tangible beyond a doubt to the audience.

After, the teens meet at the tree fort to discuss and grapple with everything they now know about their parents and the situation. Many of them look to Mel and either console the fact that this monster is using the body of her uncle, others subconsciously blame her family.

Jason exits the tree fort for some air after a minor argument breaks out among the teens. He bikes out to the Life Tree to contemplate and check on it. There, he is startled by Alister.

EPISODE 10: Baptism By Fire

Cornered by Alister, Jason lunges for his bike but Alister intimidates him rather easily away from it. He asks him if he's aware that his mother and uncle belong to him now. Jason gets the point and freezes up like a cornered rat, heart pounding.

"You want to burn me, don't you? You want to lift a hand and melt the flesh from my bones...but you're wondering, 'Can I do it? Or will he find a way to just kill me anyway?'"

They talk, and Alister warms Jason that Saito's sermons won't be enough one day, and that they have more in common than they think (the House of Chaos). Under threat of torturing his mother, he makes Jason attempt to burn the Life Tree, which he tries to do. Jason summons a snake of fire and hurls it at the Life Tree. The length of flame wraps around the tree's form, super charges, and is sent back at Alister, nearly scorching the flesh from his bone.

Alister's host bodies don't age, and he can keep them running near to death, so long as the legs still work, he can make a body walk. It's creepy, but. He gets up, smoking and looking like a BBQ'd zombie. He chases Jason, who leads him away from the tree fort and into town. Heading toward his house, he thinks he's lost Alister when Luke opens the front door. It's revealed that Luke Elliot is also under Alister's control, and Luke chases Jason through town until Saito shows up to confront Luke and disarms him, helping Jason flee to the Sheriff's Office. But Ben isn't there, he's been summoned out to the Slaughterhouse and is on his way.

When Ben arrives at the slaughterhouse, it's basically empty. Everyone has been mobilized in some capacity.

As he is making his way to Alister's office, he's tackled against the wall by a scorched, ghoul of a man that used to be Alister Lokey. He tells Ben in plain and with infuriated rage, "I need a new body!"

EPISODE 11: A New Body

Jason is jailed, but when Ben returns he releases him, telling him he has to rally up the other kids and find a way to keep them safe. he's not sure if Alister will go after another young Fae body as his host or not, but he's worried about his kids, Harry and Alexa. He tells Jason Alister is looking for a new body, so they have to protect themselves at all costs, and trust no one but those he is sure are themselves. Jason has all the kids meet at the tree fort. Meanwhile Ben tries to rally his group and discuss what is happening to prepare everyone.

When the teens meet, Becky is missing. No one can reach her, and Alexa assumes she's studying, which is no-tech time in her household. Her phone is habitually off this time of time of night. Pete heads over, despite everyone warning him to just wait. Like most of the cast, Pete has a list of fears associated with Alister., Chief on everyone's mind is, 'who does he want next, and why?'. He's not sure if Alister will want a Keeper or not, plus he has feelings for Becky. Jason and Mel accompany him, and when Pete tells Becky Alister is looking for a new body, Hisao interrupts them and says there is something everyone needs to know.

Hisao is brought to the Tree Fort, which brings back memories for him, and seems to be something he venerates as sacred, even. He seems as though he does not want to even enter, but does. Mel has gone home to check on her parents. Harry summons his father to the fort, a place Ben knows well. Hisao tells them all that when Alister jumps between bodies, there will be a moment where all of his subjects are momentarily freed from his control, as he coalesces in the consciousness of his new host.

Ben and Hisao come up with an idea to trap and defeat Alister the way he was defeated years ago, by tricking him and chemically inducing unconsciousness of the host, as if his host mind isn't conscious, he cannot work his gift on his subjects, and control wears off. Alister's hosts don't sleep. He's always plotting, working, or reading, something.

Ben was told he is to bring Nathan Elliot and Jacob Freeman to the set-up location. But Ben is sure he knows more than he is supposed to. He has caught Nancy Freeman bartering for her family's ensured neutrality after her son, Brody, was seduced into being another of Alister's "free Agents". But Ben also picked up on something Alister said earlier this Volume. In a rare moment of lapsed composure (usually when Saito is brought up), he snaps at ben, "Because there are rules! They have their pawns! I take the rest!" He believes Alister cannot possess Nathan nor Jason because they are protected by Saito. He believes Alister wants to kill Nathan like he tried to do to Jason, and possess Jacob Freeman.

Knowing it may go awry and give away Ben's alignment with him, Alister orchestrated a set-up in the same place he was ambushed last time, in the barn at the old Lokey family residence. Ben, Nathan and Jacob prepare to go into the trap, and instead of finding Alister, they are met by the majority of the possessed Alister subjects, led by Deana Miller. She says to Ben, "Now, if I had to guess, I'd say you three have been running around behind my back."

EPISODE 12: Run

Ben draws his gun on the crowd, which Alister finds cute (knowing he wouldn't shoot any of them), and Nathan and Jacob toss their canisters, releasing the sleeping gas meant for Alister, covering their retreat and escape.

(I've been mixed on how this action goes from the start.)

Mel arrives at her mom's real estate office downtown to find her working late, despite everything that's been happening. She repeatedly tells her not to worry (Alister can't possess either of them). They go home together, as Phillip isn't answering his cell or the home phone.

The first thing that hits them both is the smell of burnt flesh. In the kitchen, they see the scorched, lifeless body of Alister Lokey. Before they can even escape or call Ben, Phillip emerges from around a doorway with two kitchen knives.

He chases them out to and away from the car, as other possessed residents come out of the odd home to join the pursuit.

Meanwhile the tree fort has been surrounded by possessed residents, including Ellen Harper, who can manipulate plant life. They tell the kids and Hisao that it's over. To just surrender or loved ones start dying. Those who resist the most, will have the most blood to account for.

EPISODE 13: Leaf On The Wind

Meanwhile Ben, Nathan and Jacob stumble upon Mel and June fleeing through the streets from Phillip. Ben draws his gun and tells Alister to drop the knives so they can figure this out whiteout any bloodshed. But the gun is telekinetically yanked from his hands, and the knives from Alisters, both tossed to the shoulder of the road. Nancy Freeman steps out of her car behind them all. She has GPS trackers on all her family's devices, and figured out from the Lokey Barn trip that Alister had betrayed her.

Mel is looking at Alister in the body of her father, listening to all this crap and arguing. Mel picks up Ben's gun, and pleads with Alister to take someone else, or she'll stop him where he stands. Nancy is mildly intrigued, and allows it to happen to make Alister sweat, bare minimum. Ben and June are begging Mel not to do it. Mel says they saw what happened to Alister Lokey. That he won't stop, he'll keep killing and using up bodies until there's no Fae left in the Valley.

This is where it gets complicated. An outline can't properly walk through every character's development, but among the youth, two clear leaders and opposing forces have been and keep growing in Mel, and Jason. Mel is becoming a leader, and this is a huge decision she's about to make that will divide anyone who experiences this story. Not many will get it, but I promise it's something that's not taken lightly by anyone.

Crying, Mel apologizes to her father and pulls the trigger, killing the Prime of Chaos and Phillip Ross in the same stroke.

Immediately she is torn apart by the gravity of what she's just done. In the heat of the moment it was the honorable thing to do. They had talked prior to this in Volume 1 and Phillip had said that if he was ever in that situation, being used to hurt people would be a fate worse than death. It seemed like the noble sacrifice that had to be made, but now... Now she's torn apart. She drops the gun and runs. Her mom tries to keep up but can't.

Everywhere, possessed subject of the Chaos Prime faint before waking up shortly after, seemingly their old selves (they are).

Everyone is celebrating as if Ben, Nathan and Jacob succeeded, except they are looking at the body of Phillip Ross. An innocent human man who came to the valley out of a love for his family.

Mel is balling her eyes out, running though the White River forest until she comes up the Life Tree clearing. She heads right to it, stopping to weep as she places a hand upon the bark to rest her weight for but a moment. In the blink of an eye, as if transported from one dimension to another, Melanie Ross finds herself standing in front of a towering version of the Life Tree we know. Hundreds of feet tall but mostly withered and dead, with only a few patches of sickly leaves clinging to some semblance of life. All around her is a foreign, jarring, yet beautifully destitute new reality; The Realm of Fae. It's as though their world is smaller, with the illusion of being suspended in space being much greater and more profound, as if you could jump too high and be lost in the stars. The atmosphere was dark, with a reddish grey hue hinting at the decay of Life Essence in this place. It seemed ancient, abandoned and forgotten, yet still maintaining it's charm and other-worldly allure.

Timidly making her way around and calling out, she finally seeing a feminine figure with ravishing blonde hair adorned in a pearly-white dress. She stands within a large structure overlooking a breathtaking view of the Realm. In this chamber are many seats as if it were a council hall of sorts.

As Mel approaches the stairs leading into the chamber, the woman proceeds deeper in ahead of her.

Mel meets her, overlooking the Realm of Fae. Still distraught but now scared to death, too, she wants to speak but can't.

The woman turns around, smiling wide with love and excitement in her eyes and says, "Spanning the breadth of your entire existence, you've asked the question, 'what am I?' Well, my precious child. I've been waiting a lifetime to welcome you home."

But; at the very end, we see Luke Elliot in the bathroom of his apartment. He is washing his face and looks up into the mirror where he sees Alister Lokey standing behind him. He turns around but there is no one there. He looks in the mirror again and Alister is grinning at him.