Rebirth and Second Chances

The topography of this world was similar to that world of Earth, a place I had thought only a dream until we had arrived here, and my memories had been restored. Wynne had kept exhaustive records and recordings of her time in the CERN dungeon, enough to allow me to compare the memories from my dreams to the Earth she had been trapped on.

It had been easy for her to save a copy of the Internet using Talahm magic and technology, and I had found myself drawn to the information she had managed to save. It was like an itch that you couldn't scratch, the knowledge of that Earth something that called to me over the years.

That calling, combined with the dreams I had of a life lived, had me spending more time examining the records she had collected than I probably should have. But that knowledge would come in useful. There were differences between this world and the Earth that I remembered, but those differences were one of nomenclature. What these people considered the Isle of Wight would have been named Ireland in that other incarnation of Earth.

That made some sense to me. The Sidhe were a Tuatha de Danaan Pantheon, and the people of Celtic origin had always been the most dedicated to the myth and legends the Tuatha de Danaan perpetrated from that area.

The largest difference, other than name and location, dealt with species. There were no children of Man on the Isle of Wight, while there had been no Sidhe on Ireland. This world did have changelings. The theft of human children and hiding them Underhill might even have been the impetus the people of Man needed to begin the pogrom against the Sidhe. But except for the rare supernatural being, the Isle was exclusively Sidhe.

I decided to plant the Sithern seed near Limerick, an Unseelie town. It was located at a junction of a river, ocean bay, and five ley-lines. The ocean bay had carved a path far enough inland that it would be hard to access for any but the Sidhe. Additionally, the nexus that had formed in the area should be more than powerful enough to host a Sithern.

It was far enough away from the front-line of battle that the war between the Sidhe, Fomorians, and Man would have to end in a catastrophic defeat before there was any chance of being discovered and overrun. It would be a bit of a trek, from where I was currently, especially if I needed to escort the refugees, and at this point, I didn't see any other alternative.

Sergeant-at-arms Rhea simply wasn't up to the challenge. She would try, but Lady Clarice had already shown that she cared little for military order and discipline. Rhea was not powerful enough, nor could she call on connections to someone with enough power to gainsay the lady.

The faction divide that existed on Talahm, Seelie versus Unseelie, hadn't formed yet. Instead, it seemed that the class divide had found its way to this world, and a Seelie Lady outranked a Goblin retainer, a difference in class that simply could not be overcome or ignored based on ability or need.

Lady Clarice wouldn't allow it to happen.

"What are your plans, Rhea?" I asked, looking up from the map. I needed to know where the refugees were supposed to be evacuated to before I could finalize my own plans. I would make my way to Limerick, but that may have to wait until I had seen these people to safety.

"They had tasked Lord Thomas with escort duties because he is a vassal of Duke Cavan, a Seelie with a fortress and enough land to absorb the people being resettled," Rhea explained, pointing to a place on the map that was marked.

Cavan seemed to be a town or city as well as the Duchy for Duke Cavan. Not unusually for a [Ranked] to name the capital city and the territory it governed after the Duke tasked with authority.

A quick glance was all I needed to see that delivering these people would take time, but not add an undue amount of distance to where I was headed. We were currently located closer to the coast than Cavan, but Cavan was located in the same general direction I needed to head. Not enough of a diversion to make a difference.

"I contacted General Boadicea yesterday after our discussion, via the scrying pool," she continued, "informing her of the ambush, of your aid, and of our situation."

It surprised me the Sidhe had managed to hold on to the scrying spell with the loss of magic. It seemed not all magic had been lost, so maybe it wouldn't be as hard for them to relearn the spells they had been unable to cast now that [Fairy] had been restored. Perhaps it was only the battle magics that had been lost. I couldn't imagine the Brownies had forgotten the [Hearth] magics that were an intrinsic part of their nature.

"She got back with us this morning, informing me that Duke Cavan had been informed and he was sending Lady Kilaiee and a contingent of guards to meet with us. Lady Kilaiee has a fast travel ability that she can share with her men, so they should be here sometime later today.

"General Boadicea ordered us to wait for her arrival and to place ourselves under her command when she arrives. She and her men will provide protection for the survivors, and escort them the rest of the way to Cavan territory."

That made things easier for me.

I would wait for Lady Kilaiee's arrival to make sure these people were protected until she arrived. Once I was certain that she had things well in hand, I could take my leave and start my journey with a clear conscience. These people would be protected and escorted to a sanctuary, and I would have satisfied my duty.

******

Balfour was relieved that the Oracle had been correct. He was one of the Aziza assigned to King Teigh and had served him faithfully for almost the entirety of his reign. The Oracle had contacted him because his abilities at stealth and misdirection were among the most powerful across all Aziza. Even more so than his older brothers and sisters.

At [Rank: Lord], he was able to hide his presence from even King Teigh, something that should have been impossible. But he had been gifted with a System skill, [Cloak and Dagger], that was unique to him as far as he knew. A skill that was uniquely suited to his profession as one of King Teigh's spies.

The skill contained aspects of [Stealth], [Spy], and [Sneak], combined in such a way that they produced a layered effect, increasing the effectiveness of each by an order of magnitude. He had only recently leveled up to Lord, his duties keeping him too busy to farm experience. But he had been present, hidden within the folds of King Teigh's clothing, when he had visited Cait Sith.

They always tasked an Aziza with following the King, and he had been the one on duty the day that King Teigh had visited the Oracle. He had heard the Oracle's words and knew the tasks King Teigh would have to undertake.

He had reported the events to the King's Spymaster, Duke Tadeus, who had immediately sent him to a dungeon where he was power-leveled. That practice had fallen out of favor after Queen Mab had been over-thrown. She had used the world's dungeons to level her son from Commoner to Prince and had done so without the proper training to take advantage of what he gained as he leveled. It hadn't been made illegal, but sentiment had turned against those that used the practice after the reign of Queen Mab had ended.

Duke Tadeus wouldn't have commanded Balfour to make use of the practice if time wasn't an issue. King Teigh was never one to temporize or delay. Once he had heard the Oracle's words, it was only a matter of days before he would call upon Gwyn ap Nudd and gain passage to this other world.

Unknown to King Teigh, the Oracle had also spoken with Balfour. Her words almost a geas cast upon him to accompany the King to this other world. He would be needed. She had [Seen] that his ability at concealment would allow him to gather the information that Teigh would need in his quest to steal Odin's eye and Zeus' lightning. Without his aid, the King would fail.

He made the crossing, hiding in Ag's ear. He should have been discovered. There was no way to conceal himself from Gwyn ap Nudd's perception. He was the cosmic personification of Justice. And while justice may be blind, Gwyn ap Nudd saw all too clearly. But since he had ignored Balfour's presence, he must have had his own reasons. Gwyn ap Nudd's silence had allowed him to maintain his anonymity and secrecy.

Balfour had spent the past day moving around the camp, listening to the whispers and grievances of the refugees. He had learned that the ambush they had walked into could have been avoided. The path Lord Thomas had chosen was known to be treacherous and dangerous, and that the Lord had resented his duties, believing himself to be a more skilled warrior. One that was being tasked with a punishment detail.

There had been sightings of Fomorians in the area, but Lord Thomas had balked at being sent from the front lines. He had wanted to gain glory and power and thought that escorting and protecting those Sidhe that had been forced to flee beneath him. A waste of his time and talents.

He had made his displeasure known. Not to those who had assigned him this duty, but to the people they had ordered him to protect. The Chief of the village that the refugees had fled, had been killed protecting his people when their homes had been invaded. They had no one to stand up to Lord Thomas when he decided to sally forth against the Fomorians in a quest for glory.

Still, they had argued against traveling this path, pleading with Lord Thomas to use the safer road. His refusal had been his undoing, and he had taken most of his guard and dozens of the people they had ordered him to protect with him, into death.

The Oracle had ordered Balfour to remain hidden, to not make his presence known to King Teigh until he had protections in place that would keep his actions from being detected even by [Divine Sight]. His anonymity was the only protection he would have to help steal Odin's eye and Zeus' lightning.

But that didn't mean he couldn't report his findings to the King.

He just had to be creative in how he managed it. A task he was able to complete when he came across the original orders drafted for Lord Thomas and the road he should have followed. Now that King Teigh had access to a map, it was easy enough for the original orders that were hidden to be placed in a pile of documents that Teigh was browsing while waiting for Lady Kilaiee.