The Power of Ten

“Monarch Traveler Morningdark of The Jet and Silver, may I introduce to you Queen Sylvestris of the Faerie Courts,” Queen Huellia spoke up softly after taking a step forward, while the raven-winged figure fallen from the sky staggered to his feet after a 25d6 power-dive into the steely ice. “And her Consort, Hrafn Hjaldrim...” she added with remarkable composure.

Just the slightest rippling, for the elven queen had not introduced them as of Summer. Furthermore, she had introduced the Fey queen and her Warlord to me, not vice versa.

I hovered there calmly for a long moment, while the erlking I’d yanked down out of the sky and stripped of flight healed up painfully and regained some composure.

“Are you still going to conceal yourselves and your intent before me?” I asked them all, my Voice sweeping out over them, cool as the grey clouds overhead.

The hamadryad remained unperturbed, and the erlking only looked annoyed at my effrontery. “Lady Traveler, your reputation proceeds you. We apologize for the wariness of our Consort, but given your power, he thought some caution was warranted,” Queen Sylvestris smiled at me gently, looking for understanding.

There was no warning, the Silver Magic simply erupted. It took literally an eyeblink.

It smashed across them like shooting stars, and it ripped away all the pretenses.

Colors of green and gold blew away into reds, oranges, and yellows, also removing their layers of subtle Buffs and Glamours. Behind them, the passage the hamadryad had cleared through the forest literally slammed shut in an instant as the Dispelling tore the magic apart and reversed what she had done. Her honor guard had to shout and scramble awkwardly, breaking their formation, as the trees swept back in and shoved them out of the way.

“Lady Freyalise Sylvestris of Autumn,” I said through clenched teeth. “I am a great admirer of your efforts to set up a Portal Realm to Faerie upon this World.

“I laud your exquisite use of deceit, glamour, insinuation, charm, diplomacy, and illusion to beguile these hapless and inexperienced elves into allowing you to form this realm from the heart of their own.

“I stand in awe of the Grand Conjugation Formation you are erecting under their very noses to steal their lands away and make them your own.

“Well done. I say again, Well Done!”

Nobody believed a single damn word I said, as I was a horribly inept liar, knowing TRUTH as I did. Hundreds of tree limbs shattered all around as they froze explosively solid at my finish, and the Hum in the air if you were a Caster was deafening.

“Does this Autumn Queen have anything she wishes to say to me on her magnificent accomplishments?!” I went on, as carbon dioxide congealed out of the air around me, and liquid nitrogen dripped out of nowhere and hissed into mist on the black ice.

All of the Fey looked somewhat off-put at the moment, rather like a thousand frozen swords were hovering over each and every one of them. Even the raven-winged erlking was blanching, and very, very carefully keeping his taloned hands away from his weapons.

The hamadryad was clearly on her back foot. I had blown through her careful illusions and multi-layered deceptions effortlessly, with a spell that I had Cast with literally a thought. Her green gown was gone, replaced by a more martial warrior’s skirt, complete with bow and arrows hanging in a quiver behind her. Her golden hair was now flaming red, the color of Autumn, the Season of War among the Fey, and her once-emerald eyes were now yellow in contrast.

“Thank you for your compliments, Lady Traveler,” the revealed warrior queen bowed carefully. “It is good to see one’s efforts appreciated.”

“Indeed.” Meter-long icicles stabbed up out of the lake in all directions with a sound like shrieking steel, and the Fey all jumped at the glistening array of spears suddenly there in all directions. “However, I am personally affronted by your attempt to deceive me, after I specifically gave you the opportunity not to do so.”

Their faces all went unsightly, because they absolutely believed me now.

“I apologize for my rashness, Lady Morningdark,” she bowed quickly.

“Rashness,” I echoed, and for a second a million frozen lines of mana were visible in the air around everyone, thrumming readily. “An excellent word. I, too, am being rash. If I blink, you will all die forever. I apologize if that happens; I am trying very hard not to blink.”

Their masks slipped just a little bit. They believed me this time, too.

It also blatantly displayed that apologies did absolutely nothing for this situation. Even her links to the forest about had been frozen, effectively cutting her off from the Influence she had been building in the forests here... an Influence the elves here could abruptly feel very keenly, indeed.

This was no longer just their land. No, it was no longer their land at all...

“I confess to being impetuous, temperamental, and overly emotional.” Nobody believed me. “When I see Grand Formations like this, I have this massive urge to utterly obliterate them and the immortal entities that form them. I believe I will have to ask your forgiveness in advance on this matter, too.”

All the Fey shivered. If I wanted to, that meant killing all of them here and now. Their desires in this matter were not important, only My Will was.

That was how the Fey ruled, with killing power inside silken words. Forgive me for killing you, I will just blink now.

Their deaths were worth an eyeblink. Even if you didn’t fear death, that was daunting... but vivic flame was here.

Vivic flame would eat the entirety of the power they’d grown into away and feed it to the Land, reducing them to lower Fey when they reincarnated, with no memory of their past, as if they were newly born.

And that was only if it didn’t tear them out of the Fey loop entirely and send them into the life cycle of a mortal!

“As Your Ladyship wills, we can disassemble the Formation quickly,” Freyalise said from her knees, her head bowed.

“You seek to take my fun, knowing that doing so will not inhibit the hold you have gained over this realm already.” I tilted my head as rains of black and silver icicles slammed down everywhere, sticking into the ground. “Your guile is truly charming, Queen Sylvestris.”

Nobody believed me once again.

I lifted my hand, and a silver pillar of Light shot up from the surface of the ice and headed for the sky. A second later, there was a loud protest and a crackling from the ice as two claws girt in golden force thrust through it and tore it apart like paper, rising up through the spraying water and ice instantly.

Legion looked Impressive. All them horns and scales and massive wings, and nine poised tails and an eyeless face and nereid Aura and the way the air was rippling around them...

Hellfire erupted over them, black and crimson, billowed and glowed and congealed, and Shvaughn stepped out of Legion, Firejumping from half the world away along the lines of their Pact, also allowed by the Veil Break I’d punched into existence here.

She didn’t look quite so impressive as Legion, but they looked enough alike to be sisters, or mother and daughter... and technically were all of those, so, yeah. Erinyes brow-horns and dark angel’s wings, ready for some action.

“Queen Sylvestri, Consort Hjaldrim, allow me to introduce to you Warlock Grandmaster Legion, and Warlock Grandmaster Shvaughn. Grandmasters, allow me to introduce you to the Pact Grantors of the Bright Leaf Falling Pacts, and the Death of Iron Pacts... and their primary agents.”

“Hmm!” both of them said together. It was a sound that would make almost anyone’s blood run cold, somewhere between hunger and cold killing intent.

“Do have fun.” I turned away, spreading my wings and blocking the view of the elves. “My Lords and Ladies, I believe we had other matters to discuss.”

---

The air cracked behind me as the two Grandmasters charged, Wrath blazing in the air, and the screams of the Fey rose behind me as a wall of ice erupted between us and blocked the bolt of lightning thundering our way impassively, crackling and sinking it into the ground.

“Yes, Your Ladyship,” Queen Huellia was the first to agree, turning away from the conflict going on there, and the others also turned away hurriedly. “If I may ask, what of the Henges they have already formed?”

“The bridge they have made is eighty percent intact, and can be built upon. Not only do they need to be removed, they need to be Countered. Hold out your hands, please.”

Cautiously, they did so, and my Tails elongated nicely, stabbing one by one into the back of their extended hands via TK. A black demonic Rune formed around each injury, promptly filling up with sacred silver energy.

-Transfer those Blessings to an area out of sight,- I /told them, and they wobbled for a second at my /voice. -Here are the connections to the Grandmasters.- They shook again as the malevolent purple of Shvaughn, and the gold swarming with multi-colored, mostly dark Lights that was Legion, came firmly into their inner view. -Here are the locations to the Henges. You will coordinate with Legion and Shvaughn, and you will do whatever needs to be done to remove that Fey influence from this land.-

The sudden download of locations, and the ongoing awareness with my Communewith Nature extending over such a massive area, rocked them again. They also noted that the Land was far, far more aware of the unnatural existences of the Fey, and the shining fire of the two Warlock Grandmasters, than it was of I, or them, or any of the elves at all.

They were also aware it could feel changes that should not be there, and borders that should not be, as well...

With some trepidation, the elves peeked out the Markdoor in their minds, and at the view of my Allegiance from within their own little Chatroom within.

They almost stopped walking at the sight of all that silver, gold, and rainbow lighting up the Markscape. Oh, there were greens and browns and greys and blues, but they were largely lesser, unmotivated lights... but still acting and moving in service to a greater pattern, agreeing to be part of something bigger and better.

And even those lesser lights were strong, and getting stronger... and rising towards the Light.

There was even a subsection extending away from the royal purple, almost alive with controlled malice, that was Shvaughn, and beneath it were souls in all the dark hues, and She was their Queen.

Their own Allegiances felt like small and hollow things in comparison. When they saw the Angelos and Commander Haru’Ara, they could not help but feel too, too small themselves, and seriously question their choices in life.

This was the Allegiance of The Jet and Silver, and I stood at its peak. Commander Haru’Ara was not a member, but he stood and watched, and there were a lot of dangerously powerful, high-Level people in here.

And a good number of them were stronger than the watching elves.

-Now that we can communicate more directly and effectively, what other questions do you have for me?- I /asked them directly. They looked at me, shuddered, but things they yearned to know leapt to mind despite themselves...

-----------

“Master Tolkien, do you have something you wanted to talk about?”

The elven nobles had left rather urgently in person... but they were right next to me in my head. The black and silver ice over the waters had melted as spontaneously as it had formed.

Of the Fey, there was no sign, but if one could hear, out in the distance, the warrior-Fey of the Court of Autumn were screaming here and there as two Grandmasters traveled between their centers of influence, and brought to them the bright red colors of the fall.

The elves were moving too, violently if need be, as word went out of the goals of the fey and the treachery they’d wrought with words and guile, playing upon the desires of the elves.

He’d also seen all five elven Monarchs take a knee to me, and the Banner of The Jet and Silver. As he was a faithful Vassal of Queen Huellia, he had also been there when that resounding roar of welcome to my Allegiance thundered over his soul, and he found himself swelling with emotions he’d not felt for nigh unto a century now.

We would also help the elves rise towards the Light, and be a light in the darkness.