Disaster in Faerieland

However, this typical start to a day did not last. For days, Neopians have witnessed the slow sinking of Faerieland. This sinking of Faerieland began soon after a powerful spell from a magical faerie artefact managed to turn the entire faerie population into stone. Rumor has it that these were the actions of the infamous Hubrid Nox. In an effort to find and reverse the spell, King Altador and other Neopian leaders sought the help of a young blue Ixi, Hanso, a Kougra prison guard named Brynn, and Xandra, a librarian.

The three went on to hunt down Hubrid Nox. Hanso, led the three to the Nox’s castle. The heroes were not able to catch Nox and ended up trapped in the castle. Tempers did flare between Brynn and Hanso but were immediately put out by this dire situation. As the three managed to escape the castle, Nox was far away, so far away that nobody knows his whereabouts now.

Soon after, dark creatures called “shadows” began to appear around Neopia and Faerieland, once a bright pink place, became a dark swirling void.

The counterassault began at the Battle of the Shattered Plain near Haunted Woods and the young Neopets eventually defeated the shadows. The young Neopets then continued to look for the cause of the spell and possibly reverse it. The Neopets decided that they needed further information on the spell itself so Captain Brynn searched through the entire library in Brightvale in order to find a book that contained information about the faerie artefact. However, the shadows began to reappear, in stronger form this time.

The Battle of Brightvale almost looked like a loss for Neopians but after enlisting the help of their Meridell allies, the soldiers from Brightvale and Meridell managed to prevent total destruction from occurring. Brynn, finding the book, wished to return to the Neopian leaders with Xandra to discuss her findings. Hanso followed closely behind.

The situation was dire when the three reached the woods. Several Neopets found themselves trapped in a cave, held down by strange purple goo. Hanso managed to rescue many of the trapped Neopets and Xandra managed to remove remaining goo.

“Eh, it was a piece of cake! Although that Xandra needs to go. She scares me a bit,” Hanso said when the NT managed to catch up with him. With the spellbook and the three heroes together, the progress on reversing the spell on Faerieland and the rest of Neopia could begin.

However, as the heroes began to conduct the ritual, more shadows with increased strength began to appear in Neopia. The Neopets that were called into duty for the battle did not know what hit them as the shadows began assaulting them from all directions. At the same time, the heroes tried their best to contain the barrier that protected Xandra from the fighting so that she might safely perform the ritual.

Days and nights passed as the fighting continued and it seemed that nothing was happening other than more Neopets being taken out of action by the shadows. Then as if Neopians needed another twist to this mess, a large shadow named Oblivion appeared in battle. Unlike the previous shadows though, Neopets were not able to take him down.

“It seemed like every single attack would bounce off of him! He would also change forms! I’ve never seen anything like it!” said General Snark of the Meridell Forces.

As discouraged as the Neopets were, the fighting continued along with Faerieland’s descent. However, many Neopians thought nothing of the descent of Faerieland other than a few comments pointed out that Faerieland was lower in the sky. As Neopians continued to put blind faith into the heroes, things continued to get worse.

Then came the 24th day of Storing. The ritual seemed to be complete but the shadows continued to come. Hanso quickly glanced at Xandra, trying to tell her that the shadows were right behind her, ready to attack. However, this was when Xandra ultimately betrayed the heroes. She betrayed the faeries. But worst of all, she betrayed Neopia.

With a final cackle from Xandra, the land of all things pink crashed into Neopia as all of the Neopets stood helplessly watching. With more shadows appearing and Xandra leading them on, the Neopets were forced to retreat in order to regain morale and figure out what to do next, and our Neopian rulers were turned to stone.

The Neopian Times tried to reach Captain Brynn but she refused to utter a single word to anybody, including Hanso. Meanwhile, Hanso’s once humorous attitude also faded away with Faerieland.

“I knew that Xandra was a shoddy character. I just knew it! Why I didn’t stop her was my own stupidity,” Hanso repeated at an attempted interview.

It appears that all the heroes are traumatized along with the rest of Neopia. At the same time, it seems that all these years, Neopia has taken Faerieland for granted. Without Faerieland, there would be no healing springs. Those with sick Neopets now feel the pain from that. Without, Faerieland, there would be no Poogle Races or Faerie Cloud Racers, two of the most popular activities in Neopia. But most importantly, without Faerieland, Neopia would be a place without blessing, but rather full of curses, especially with the shadows present.

As of now, there are no further developments to this story but the Neopian Times must regretfully report this tragedy in Neopia. As we mourn for the loss of Faerieland, we at the Neopian Times indeed hope that you are all safe. Perhaps one day, Neopia will be a bright place to be again.

Reporting live from the remains of the Faerie City.