1st of May, 2026
Long ago the people lived in the land they loved. They labored and loved and thrived amongst the ivy and stone. Evil had come many times to their land but every time they had repelled it through great effort and strife. Again and again the evils of the world came against the people and they did not give up.
Eventually, as all things do, the world was changed. The people still faced the enemy and still loved their land and still fought to retain all that they were. But they could not remain. The enemy grew too strong and the world too cold and even though the land itself never turned on them, it was used as a weapon.
And so, to save themselves, the people fled. In great ships they flew from the isle to new lands. To America, Australia, Aotearoa, to all the corners they could scratch out a place for themselves. As they left many of the ships-men who carried them forth saw strange things upon their vessels; a weight too heavy for accountability, ropes that never dried, repairs done in the night.
It was one such time as a ship preparing to cross the great ocean noticed itself sitting far lower in the water than it ought. The Captain checked and rechecked every log and cabin and the weight would not make itself known. A navigator saw the Captain's frustration, and being a man gifted with Sight held out his hand and offered to show him the reason.
As the Captain looked with new eyes he saw about him a score of the Fair Folk, busying themselves in the rigging and about the deck. "My friends," he called kindly, "I see you and know you intend to voyage with us. But I fear there's too many of you. The ship will sink."
From the bow a voice like the chiming of a church bell answered back, "Fear nothing. Bring us with and the ship will face no danger. We will protect you. For if the people leave the land, those who come to fill it will not know how to respect it.
"Where the people must go, the folk will always follow after."
