“Cool!” the teen was suddenly excited at the prospect. “It’s crazy there are all these aspects of the world I never knew about. I can’t believe we even have space travel! How can this all be kept secret?”
“There are a variety of regional agencies that keep Faedra matters hidden from Faeless in different areas, and here in the U.S. that responsibility falls to an organization called the Bureau of Extranormal Affairs & Crisis Oversight Navigation.” Koga explained.
“Wait a minute, I’ve heard of B.E.A.C.O.N. before,” Mallory recalled. “I’ve seen that name thrown around by conspiracy theorists online who say the agency is trying to hide evidence of UFOs, aliens, mutants and stuff like that… I guess there was some truth to it after all.”
“B.E.A.C.O.N. has deliberately cultivated a public image as a ‘fringe’ agency, which serves to conceal the true scope of their work,” the older man revealed.
“Ah, I see. Keep the conspiracy bros ranting about it and the rest of the country disregards the claims. But if there is this huge space-capable presence out there, what is the purpose of keeping it hidden from Faeless? Just so they don’t all panic?”
“That’s part of it,” Koga confirmed. “Another big factor is jealousy. If human history has taught us anything, it’s that those who hold no power become envious of those who do. If the general Faeless public knew about Faedra society, fanatics would want to exterminate us, governments would want to control us, and scientists would want to dissect us.”
“I’m guessing something like that happened before to warrant such a stance?” Mallory inquired.
“Unfortunately,” the martial artist nodded. “Witch Hunters, Demon Slayers, Templars, Paladins, etc. Any time a large population of Faeless has learned of our existence, the result has always been violence.”
“I’m assuming the - what did Jasper call it… Oh yeah- I’m assuming the Commonwealth could defend themselves against any Faeless attacks, but do they choose to stay hidden regardless because of morality?”
“The Galactic Commonwealth could indeed wipe out any Faeless resistance these days, and in fact, some Faedra politicians have even suggested such notions,” Koga explained. “But ultimately, that would lead to genocide. History would paint us in a similar light to Nazi Germany. Alternatively, some have suggested welcoming Faeless into our society with open arms, but then we’d eventually be right back to the issues of jealousy and such. Currently, the only acceptable course of action agreed to by most of the Commonwealth High Council is to follow the Statutes of Secrecy laid out in the Shadowcloak Act of 1891.”
“Whoa, the Commonwealth existed even way back in 1891?” Mallory was in awe.
“Oh yeah, the Commonwealth has existed in some form since the Age of Atlantis thousands of years ago,” he revealed. “Our ancestors were reaching for the stars while Faeless were still building rudimentary tools.”
“Wow, that’s incredible,” the teen found it all to be fascinating. “So how many planets are part of Faedra society? Are there a lot of alien species?”
“We have inhabited hundreds of planets and moons across the galaxy, but thus far we have not encountered any intelligent extraterrestrial humanoid life native to them. Sure, there are plenty of Faedra who may look like aliens, but their bloodlines all originate from ancient Earth. Generations of exposure to magic have caused some people to develop a variety of non-human traits, for which they require glamour charms to blend in when traveling through Faeless communities.”
“Man, the more I learn, the more questions I have,” Mallory made a ‘mind blown’ gesture with his hands.
“I think that’s enough of an info dump for now,” Koga said with a laugh as he stood to his feet. “I need to head out, but I want you to take it easy today, okay? Your injuries were healed, but you may find your stamina waning if you do anything too strenuous. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to get you and we’ll go see Oyewa.”
“Sure thing, Unk. Oh man!” the teen sighed as he just remembered something. “All this excitement, and I probably can’t tell any of it to Emmett, huh?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” he replied with a grin. “But I’ll let him be the one to tell you.”
“Wait, does that mean Emmett is a Faedra too?” Mallory jumped up, excited.
“Goodbye, Mal! I’ll see you tomorrow!” Koga smirked and waved as he made a speedy exit out the front door and vanished.
The teen immediately ran up to his room and grabbed his phone to call Emmett.
“Hey dude! What’s up?” his friend answered.
“Are you a Faedra?” Mallory blurted out right away. There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. “Dude! Are you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Emmett replied slowly. Then he just started laughing hysterically. “I’m fucking with you, dude! Koga told us a little about what happened to you, but we don’t know the whole story yet.”
“So… this entire time, you’ve been keeping this huge secret from me…”
“I wanted to tell you so many times, dude,” Emmett revealed, a bit of pain suddenly showing in his voice. “I hated having to keep such a big thing from my best friend. But my parents would have killed me if I said anything. I’m sorry, Mal…”
“So I’m guessing they’re not doctors like you told me?” the teen asked.
“Technically they are - they’re alchemists specializing in medical potions and the like,” the other boy explained.
“Koga mentioned that I may be going to a magic school called Qrowdell Academy. Is that where you’ll be going too?”
“If I can pass the Entrance Exam! We could go together and maybe be roommates! I mean… if you still want to be my friend after everything…” Emmett had a bit of sadness in his voice.
“I’m not happy about everyone lying to me, but nothing I can do about it now,” Mallory’s voice then became much more uplifting. “You’re my best friend, dude. Always will be. Now get your ass over here so we can talk about all this in person!”
Emmett laughed out loud. “Okay dude! Be there soon!”
Mallory changed out of his pajamas while he waited, and then realized he hadn’t seen Skye for a while and went to look for her.
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