Chapter Text
Prologue: Born In The Dawn
She had many titles: Daughter of the Hidden, Queen of Avalon, Creator of the Mists, Lady of the Lake. But when she was still mortal they called her Vivienne of the Lake Folk. Her kind was the first of the Fey Kind to be wiped out by the church’s crusade.
In her death The Hidden came to her, and the whispers she had heard since she was a child gave her a great gift. They gave her a way to save all Fey, the power to protect them. The helped her create Avalon, gave her immense power to rule over it and made it a sanctuary for all souls lost to the church to have one more chance at life before they passed into the Twilight.
Vivienne wished it was in her power to do more to save the mortal Fey often after the creation of her realm, but when The Hidden professed of the ones to be born that were destined to lead the living Fey to sanctuary in Avalon she cried. The price would be too terrible, the suffering too great. The Hidden asked for too much this time.
They demanded two children with the affinity for all elements the Fey drew their life force from. Children that when Joined would be unstoppable protectors of Fey Kind. But before the children could be Saviors, The Hidden demanded great suffering of them. Only Vivienne, The Hidden’s own creation, neither alive nor dead, leader of beings of the in between like herself knew the details of the suffering.
The prophecy was dictated to all Fey elders and rulers of the saviors to come, even down to the parents of the children. Nothing of the suffering was detailed.
An alpha son of Vivienne, Creator of Avalon, Protector of the Fallen and an omega daughter of Merlin the last Druid, known by many names but most famously as Traitor of Fey. Their union would be the saving grace of all Fey. Most knew of this, what they did not know were the less famous parents of the saviors. Only the clan leaders of the alpha and omega knew of their fate and were to reveal it when the time came.
When the previous Ash King perished, and his son Ban took the throne it only took the young alpha days to be found on the shore of Vivienne’s lake. Her tether to the mortal world, the only place she could physically manifest until she had a child to tether her to the mortal plane. The young man was eager to do his duty despite the omega he was mated to in his clan. Ban was the obvious choice for the father of her son; Viviane had a Hidden-given talent for water and air, in Bans family line the eldest son was gifted with fire affinity in addition to their people’s affinity for the earth. Their son would be terribly powerful.
After their coupling Vivienne was able to leave her lake holding her Lancelot. She begged Elaine, mate of Ban, to raise the boy as her own. She didn’t want to give him up; she wanted him to be safe with her. But The Hidden had ordered.
Her Lancelot. Her sweet boy, so much suffering he would endure. It wasn’t fair.
Lenore, a young Sky Folk omega was to be the mother of her sons destined. The Sky Folk had an affinity for air, but Lenore also had a talent for earth. She would be their leader when she grew. Which is why after she and Merlin mated The Hidden took away the alphas power and compelled him to leave his love. It wouldn’t do for Merlin to be in the way of Lenore's rise and it wouldn’t do for him to be around keeping his daughter safe and loved.
Merlin in his affinity for all the elements was devastated at the loss of magic and mate, and even more crushed when Vivienne told him the true prophecy. She was able to leave her lake because of Lancelot, but she wasn’t allowed to see him. The Hidden forbade interference in the chosen ones lives. She and Merlin wouldn’t be able to go near their children under pain of torture by both light and dark gods until the children met.
Vivienne and the Magician grew to be friends while they waited. She confided in him the defeat she felt when Ban, Elaine and their three sons appeared in Avalon with the rest of the Ash Folk, confirming to her her child's torture was in progress and she was helpless to end it. When Nimue was attacked by a Dark God Merlin came to her lake to mourn the girl’s childhood happiness.
It would be years of holding each other and crying watching their children suffer from afar.
The day the man her son had been made to become entered the village of the Sky Folk, Vivienne went to her friend in glee.
The suffering was through.
The saving could begin.
They were allowed to help their children.
Finally.