In the late twentieth-century, there was a normal little town. It was surrounded on all sides by grass fields and forest, and only two roads on opposite sides went in and out of the town.
Two hundred years ago . . .
Some said a fairy, an angel, (or more recently suggested: men from Mars) or a time traveller had helped save the town from a plague. Naturally this person was accused of causing the disease in the first place, and barely escaped with their life, whoever they may have been.
A hundred and fifty years later, in relatively more sensible times, one night, in on the city's anniversary in the town hall, in good humor, jest, good intention, or just drunkenness, it was agreed to repay this stranger or their next of kin restitutions of their choosing.
The next day, finding this written in the town's official law books, it was shrugged off, and allowed to stay, and stay it did, buried in layers upon layers of forgotten laws.
Somewhere else however, a woman knelt before a throne.
The woman was clade in full platemail that shined like sliver, but she moved as if it was light as a feather, it was practically sculpted to her body, hiding nearly all of her body except her head.
Her head was current under her left arm, eyes closed bowing respectively to her king. She had short almost boyish blond hair, and her eyes if shown would be blue like the sky at midday.
Her armor itself didn't even have an opening for a neck, any indication there was supposed to be something above the shoulders was completely absent.
She carried on her a sword, dagger, whip, and lance.
"Your Majesty King Oberon, you have call for me?" Her head asked. It had no neck, no throat, no opening underneath, but she spoke perfectly fine for lacking vocal cords.
"Dame Aednat. The trolls have appointed a new king. After the funeral feast of his predecessor, this arrived via goblin on bat messenger." The king of the fairies said concisely.
A rolled up letter was given to Aednat, whose head read the scroll with alarm and doom.
War. This would be no simple raid. This would be an all out invasion. Aednat recognized the official seal of the king of the trolls, the name inscribed being that of his second cousin.
No, it wasn't war in the exact sense, it was a waring to the fairies.
The new troll king had repealed the law of his predecessor that had banned the eating of human flesh and taking humans as cattle and slaves and whatever other ghoulish thing the trolls thought to do with them.
If the fairies tried to get in their way, "the trolls will not be held responsible for what happens next."
Aednat had a flash back to fifty years ago, during the last raid the trolls had made on the human world. It had been horrible. Bullets, bazookas, a tank shell to the face, nothing made by human hands could put them down.
Aednat had fought alongside humans in that battle. The trolls had been renegades, the troll king himself apologizing for their actions.
Aednat had hoped this encounter would have inspired humans to make weapons that would be effective against trolls, and their ilk, become more prepared for next time, and inform others f what they'd learn for next time.
Instead, those with power had doubled, then quadrupled their efforts to keep the existence of the fey and the fel SILENT, ignorance would be strength it seemed. Apparently, knowing about man-eating trolls and magic fairies it was deemed at the time bad for the economy. Those who tired to share the truth ended up face down in a river, committed, or otherwise silenced, or given sanctuary with the fey themselves.
And had focused on weapons effective for killing each other, rather than something that explicitly craved their flesh. Aednat had made a point of staying up to date on humanity's newest weapons of war and military exploits.
"Negotiations?"
"We just back the emissaries' bones."
" . . . there has to be something."
"The trolls believe that this will be a simple harvesting of cattle to them, not a true fight . . . my intelligence informs us that in a week's time, likely less, is when the trolls will have mobilized their army, and make their raid."
Radar and cruise missiles would be little good against an enemy that emerged from the ground rather than flying in the air or on land or by sea.
"One hundred Dullahan must meet them and make them realize otherwise."
Aednat stared in shock at her king.
Fairies who had been born since the true great war with the troll had gone into nature preservation or charity work. Aednat herself was, in fact,
"But I am the only Dullahan left."
"Well spoken. You are ordered to engage in a impressment drive at once."
-
Before setting out Aednat knelt before a image of Jesus and crossed herself, she had sworn to kill and die to protect her king, her fellow fairies, and her kingdom, that didn't mean she was a creature devoid of faith.
"Lord, please forgive me for what I am to do," she prayed.
She stood up, and stepped off her shadow.
Her shadow rose, becoming solid, changing shape, until its form became that of a large black horse with no head, its neck ending in nothing.
She gently patted her black horse's side. "Come along Tandea, let's get this unfair business over with so we can get the worse business over with."
The horse neighed in agreement.
-
Aednat got many stares when she rode into the center of town. People stared at her confused. Their confusion didn't end when she took out a scroll and read her message.
"Ninety-Nine people of this town shall be impressed into King Oberion's service in defend of this world against the troll hordes. All within the town will be subject to impressment whether they are residents or not. Any who do not wish to be subject for impressment are free to leave the town in the next twenty-four hours, or merely write down a desire to be exempted from conscription in the next twenty-four hours or someone else on your behalf within that twenty-four hours. Age, gender, and class shall mean nothing, fate and chance will decide who shall be conscripted."
They thought she was a magician, or a circus act, or maybe some sort of publicity stunt for a movie. The police told her she was causing a scene and to leave, she did so.
She knew that King Oberon would not approve, but given what she would take from these people, it was the least she could do.
But no one believed her to be what she was. A number of young men approved her 'nice costume' and 'remote animatronic head'.
Twenty-four hours passed.
She mounted Tandea and drew her sword. At the stroke of twelve noon, she rode down.
A family of three having a picnic, Aednat rod and swung her sword three times.
Three necks vanished. There was no hole in the bodies or heads for their throats, just closed skin, and no sign there had ever been anything there. Their skin turned pale as hers was.
All three stood at attention as their clothes turned to form fitting armor. The father's body became feminine, gaining a bust and curves, his face turning fair, and SHE stood with the rest of her family. The little daughter stood at attention with her parents, holding her head with arm, and tore off the head of her teddy bear and had him carry it around like she was carrying around her own head now.
"As long as you head is unharmed you are immortal, and any injury you sustain sans for cold iron will be non-existent. Your shadow now exists as a separate being, named in reversal of your own name that will serve as your steed. You have conscripted to fight a war to protect your world. When the war is over, you shall be free to go where you chose. Until that time, am I your command. And may God have mercy on my soul."
"Yes Mi'lady!" The three new Dullahan saluted.