Okay, how are you going to interrogate Willah, Afina?
I'll just fly down there and straight up ask her about contacts between the traitors and the unseelie. If she gives me attitude I'll think about having her mind changed but honestly I'm not expecting much from her so don't care to bug anyone else for dominations/mind probes right off.
Willah stares at you as you approach, silent. She barely moves or reacts otherwise, eyes on you but no words of defiance, only a moody glare.
Go ahead.
"You may be disappointed to know we missed out on acquiring a new cellmate for you yesterday, Willah," Afina says as she flutters into view, hovering at the nymph's head height. "The Gray interfered with our attack on Ettan. You do know who the Gray is, don't you?"
"A myth," Willah retorts quietly. "A scary story told on winter nights."
"A myth that's very interested in your cohorts," Afina says. "What sort of dealings have you had with the Unseelie that the Queen of Air and Darkness sees fit to send her eyes to watch over a miserable wretch like Ettan?"
"None," Willah bites out, ""None whatsoever. Leave." She glares at you, not once blinking, her infernal gaze boring into like a hot iron.
She doesn't want Willah to think her desires have any weight here, but honestly Afina didn't expect anything useful anyway. The Gray's presence and actions didn't really line up with it either hunting Ettan or protecting him. More likely it and the Queen of Air and Darkness were just having a look at where Bel appeared. They just don't know for sure, and that sort of uncertainty can't be abided in such a deadly conflict.
Anyway, Willah's useless so Afina turns and flies off. They're going to have to go to the source, aren't they? And for that she turns to one far more versed than she in Sylvan politics, her own Queen!
Queen Ilsenine is found holding court. The fey chatter and celebrate amid themselves, Queen Ilsenine overseeing it all from her throne.
"You may approach, Afina," Lady Skye says, "Be respectful."
Isn't she always?
Oh wait no, she finally called Ilsenine out on the whole 'prove your devotion to me by murdering everyone you care about' thing.
Wasn't really as satisfying as she'd thought it would be, but then she also thought she'd never have the mental fortitude to say anything. She'll chalk it up as a win.
Outwardly she just nods to Skye and flies over to land before the throne, kneeling and waiting to be recognised.
"Baroness," Ilsenine greets you, "Rise and speak your mind." She smiles faintly afterwards, caught for a few moments before her normal composure returns.
"Your Majesty," Afina rises and approaches the throne to speak. "I require your advice on a matter of Unseelie politics. Jaela and I were recently interfered with by one of the Queen of Air and Darkness's personal servants while on a mission to Lifasa. We need to learn what stake they hold in the battle for our world and if we can expect similar interference in the battles to come."
The gallant and bright festivities of the Court of Lifasa pause, as if a wrong note was played by the bards.
"The Queen of the Broken Mirror!" A pixie gasps, staring in shock.
"The Unseelie!" Another murmurs, a nymph paying far more attention now.
Ilsenine holds a hand up, silencing the murmurs behind you. "Is this a matter best spoken of in private, Baroness?"
"... so it would seem," Afina says blandly. Honestly, they're acting like a bunch of superstitious humans! They're just other fey that happen to play for the opposite team, nothing mysterious there.
Ilsenine nods to Lady Skye, who promptly flies forward.
"Clear the Court at her Majesty's command!" Lady Sky proclaims. Soon enough all have left, leaving the three of you in shared solitude.
"So it would seem," Ilsenine agrees, "Which servant was this, Afina?"
"The Gray," she answers. And that to be fair is a name she wouldn't have blurted out in front of everyone. "He was invisibly floating over Ettan's hiding place, and we initially took him for a devil minion until Jaela attacked him and he retaliated. I'm mostly sure he was observing the site of Bel's appearance on our world, but if there's a chance they have some sort of accord with the devils we need to know about it. As it was we had to abandon our mission to capture Ettan in light of the interference."
"The Gray?" Ilsenine murmurs, "He is real? I've never heard his presence directly confirmed before." The Queen leans forward on her throne, "I do not know, but finding out strikes me as wisdom incarnate."
"Which comes back to my need for help," Afina nods. "Who should we approach to learn about the reason for his presence?"
"I have contacts," Ilsenine says, "Duke Irrleas of the Court of Spring would answer my questions. So would Princess Butterblossom of the Court of Flowers. Alternately, perhaps...we go even higher up. This is a matter that concerns Her Majesty, for if the Gray is acting, the Queen of Air and Darkness is acting."
"He is an extension of her will," Afina agrees. "Though hopefully we can get information from Unseelie mouthpieces without having to dare go that far directly."
"I will defer to your preferences in this affair, as it is a military matter," Queen Ilsenine confirms. "If that is what you wish, inquires can be made simply as well."
"I've come to you for advice, your Majesty," Afina says, shaking her head. "What do you think is the best approach for getting to the truth of the matter, and then being able to do something about it if it does in fact turn out they're supporting Hell?"
"Ah, I misunderstood your intent," Ilsenine says, "Asking the Unseelie directly would be the simplest measure, but also the most likely to be lies and propaganda. It would also be the quickest. That is, assuming asking of the Gray gets a serious reply at all. Duke Irrleas and Princess Butterblossom are both of royal blood and in important enough courts to be aware of the mysteries of the planes, so they would likely know. However, it would involve diplomacy and meeting them. Finally, seeking Her Majesty is the most direct way and we have no idea if it will work, or if we overreach above our stations, but should she favor us, the rewards may be vast. Further, did you still wish to meet her, Afina?"
"I would," Afina answers, since what fey wouldn't? "Given the places we've visited, and the increased interest in Lifasa from the mighty after Bel's appearance, I don't think we'd be over-reaching to go that far."
"Then we will leave when you are ready," Ilsenine says, rising from her throne. "Skye, see to matters here while I am gone."
"Yes, your Majesty," Lady Skye bows deeply.
"I'm prepared to leave at your leisure, my Queen," Afina reports, seeing no reason to delay further.
Bringing anyone else? Where precisely are you going to gate to? Any prep I need to know about?
I'll gate to wherever Ilsenine says I should gate. Afina's never visited the sylvan realms. We'll just go by ourselves, no special prep needed.
Your gate opens up into deep, thick forest. No mere glade here, but wild and untamed nature. The way is almost impenetrable, unless you can fly or otherwise maneuver through nature's full splendor. Ilsenine leads along, "We must seek the Queen's realm, or see if she intervenes to bring us to her. We are reasonably close to places where gates to the grand court appear, but they are not always where or when you want them."
The barriers and difficult terrain of the natural world are of absolutely no impediment to Afina at least! She looks around and asks, "Is any one direction better than another from here, then?"
"In truth, no," Ilsenine admits, "Passage to Queen Titania's court is at her whimsy, not ours. Yet while the Court of Stars finds us in the spirit of righteousness and what is right, the Court of Summer finds us in the will and whimsy of the seasons."
After a look around, Afina takes a direction marked by the most colourful of the local foliage. It's as good as any, right? "How about this way, then?" she suggests, starting to flutter off.
You fly this way perhaps twenty minutes - a path of bright red roses wrapped around tree trunks, vibrant purple flowers dotting the clear spaces on the ground below. It is at that point you come to a door standing in the forest. A plain wooden door, standing there as if it was meant to be there.
"Hopefully this is an invitation," she says to Ilsenine, flying over to open the door!
The door opens. Ahead is a garden at nighttime, a walled garden full of flowers and beauty. The air is cooler there, brushing against the two of you like a momentary respite from summer.
"We have the Queen's favor," Ilsenine says, ever so softly.
"We did see the World Tree," Afina says, not having doubted it herself. Taking a breath of flower-scented air, she flutters through into the night-time garden.
As you step through, reality ripples. You are slipping asleep, walking in the hazy unreality of a beautiful dream. Everything is dim and yet defined, flashes of memories as much as the current reality. You feel warm and safe, as if curled up in bed in Aurora - or on top of your shelf as you particular case may be.
Before you Ilsenine slowly flies forward, as from afar, you hear beautiful music. The sound of a lyre playing something, forgotten the moment you hear it, yet leaving an echo of its beauty within you.
A bed's too inviting a target for an assassin hoping to get the drop on her, one can never be too careful even when they feel safe! Drowsily she dips down to the ground, her wings too lethargic to keep her aloft, yet her feet work enough for her to meander almost sleep-walking towards the source of that music.
You drift.
What other word is there for it?
You drift in your dreams, each step blurring together as you walk on. Like the end of a lie in, half awake and half asleep, you slowly advance onward, the barrier between your dreams and remembering weakening, reality and fantasy intermixing.
A voice lifted in song. A beautiful voice singing in Celestial - no. The Words of Creation. You realize this as you wander through this dreaming garden, a flash of insight from your aware mind as you continue to step through your dreams. The singing joins the lute, as you have a flashback to...a face. A gentle face holding you, so large and you are so small.
Mother.
Her voice is like a balm for a pain you forgot you had.
"My little Afina," she murmurs, "Do you remember it still, the song that's sung when a new life is born? Do you remember the Fey Queen singing it to you?"
Flicker.
Your mind drifts away from it, to the unreality of the garden before you. You're closer - ahead is a large lake, far too large to fit into the garden, and yet there it is. A covered pavilion is on the shores of it, from where the music and song comes from.
Afina instinctively glances over at Ilsenine after that memory flashback of her mother, to the woman who replaced her in so many ways.
She'd forgotten, of course. That and many other things, pushed down into the recesses of her mind to lay dormant, unimportant compared to fulfilling her Queen's will those long centuries, or more recently the task of liberation and revenge. But oh, she remembers now. That more innocent life, long since cast off, never to be recaptured.
It's nothing more than nostalgia. She's come here with a purpose, and with more focus now she flutters her wings to take the air once more, continuing towards the pavilion.
What Ilsenine sees is opaque to you, yet she looks at you at precisely the same time. Nothing is said between the two of you as you enter the pavilion.
Here are three.
Two are a man and a woman. Indistinct, hazy, impossible to see. The man plays and the woman sings, her voice rough and yet profoundly beautiful. The lyre's music is gentle, drifting along with you.
The third sits on a throne of memories, merely to look at it sends you dreaming again.
The flash of blood on your blade, Queen Ilsenine's will carri-
A gown of all the stars in the night sky. Silver bracelets.
The Child of Lifasa, twisting in the air before you as 21's light consumes it. In that moment, that memory brings an instant of perfect clarity. Before you sits the Queen of Stars, The Empress of the Fey and your sovereign. She is the most beautiful woman you have ever seen, a moment of heartrending joy and love consuming you like a tidal wave consumes a mere skiff.
"Come." She whispers a single word to you.
Afina only has eyes for Titania/Morwel, even her questions about the Gray forgotten as she's swept up in loving awe and flutters over to land before the throne and prostrate herself.
Ilsenine is at your side, mimicking as she gives homage.
Memories, another tidal wave washing over you.
The pain of diabolical fire and devil claws.
The scrape of blade against bone, the agony of bone breaking.
The aching agony of vile wounds, that refuse to heal and constantly leak your life's blood.
The overwhelming heat of Fire that threatened to consume you and end your Crusade.
The dazed throb of a blow to your head, as you choke on your own blood.
So many pains. In that moment after, they are washed away from you as if a spark drowned in the ocean.
"Come." Again she speaks, a single word beckoning you closer. "Your sacrifices have not been in vain."
She shivers upon reliving so many pains, but the tension leaves her body in their ensuing absence. "Thank you," she murmurs, finding it grossly inadequate, but what else can she say? Words were never her strong point, and right now she's just drowned out so much by her Sovereign.
At the instruction to come closer she rises gracefully to her feet, her limbs not betraying her even if her tongue feels clumsy, and walks ever closer to the throne.
Ilsenine simply cries without a sound, tears running down her smiling face as she approaches with you.
The Queen merely pats her lap, one leg and then the other. "Come, my children. Rest, come to my succor while you listen."
She's reminded of that time Tepen told her how pixies remind humans of children. But if anyone has the right to consider them so it's Titania/Morwel. With a brief exertion of her wings she lifts herself up to land just past her Queen's left knee, her legs dangling over the side as she looks upwards.
Ilsenine takes the other knee, simply sitting there and resting her head. Queen Morwel gently pats your head and then Ilsenine's a sense of peace soothing you.
"Afina, I am proud of you. You have not forgotten your roots nor have you succumbed. You have made great sacrifices to reach this far, to protect your world and uphold the fey values in your soul. You will go forth and save Lifasa from the darkness, ending evil's reign on your world and ushering in a new era of legends and dreams."
There is a moment's pause before the Queen continues, where all the world is the gaze she gives you, meeting your eyes.
"When the End Days come, I will heal all the mortal worlds of the taint of evil and then bring peace to the Inner Planes, combining them all into one. The elementals will be freed of their endless war and all mortal life will become a grand adventure, untarnished by evil's grasp."
Queen Morwel's smile makes your heart seize in your chest, all your reality her and her alone.
"You have fulfilled my plan within yourself. You have all of the elements and have brought harmony to them, and you will be one of the warriors that brings peace from Lifasa as Hell is overthrown there. You may have lost your fey heritage, but you have lived up to the greatest heritage of all. You have lived up to the promise in every fey and eladrin, that one day all suffering and evil will be laid low forever."
"Know that I am proud of you, and I will forever be proud of you. You are always a fey in heart and you need not fear what you have lost, for you will be repaid seven times over for your sacrifice. Know that your Crusade will have our support, my child."
Afina cries glittering tears the shine with rainbow colours as she's told in the most heartfelt way that everything's going to be okay. "I will," she say softly, promising to live up to all that faith and promise.
Your hair is gently stroked several times, your tears brushed away as they fall.
"Ilsenine," Morwel turns her gaze from you to her - an unavoidable little sigh coming from you at that. "You have suffered greatly from Hell. Your body has been profaned and your soul tormented, all through no fault of your own. Yet you have held the faith and sought to heal, sough a court of life and to repair your world. You have struggled to understand a better nature and a better way, when so many would succumb to what Hell did to them. Know that in every falter and every misstep you take that I am with you, for I am proud of you."
Ilsenine continues to cry silently, her tears brushed away as well.
"The final battles against evil will not be easy. The End Days will see a great crusade to end the wicked, but it will not be without sacrifices and bloodshed. Not without missteps and mistakes. Know that you have captured the heart of that struggle and the courage to continue ever onward, to become something better than you were. You have pleased me, Ilsenine."
Afina doesn't say anything as Ilsenine has her moment with Titania/Morwel, though she feels a little guilty for letting that helpless sigh slip out. There wasn't any stopping it, though! Still, for all that she got to have her say on the issue recently, she can recognise how Ilsenine's been trying so hard to change, to be a kinder and gentler woman than the one who forged Afina into a weapon.
A weapon that's been exceedingly useful when it comes to fighting Hell, so... who can say if she was even wrong for all of that? Hence Afina's consistently conflicted feelings on her monarch.
"I'm sorry," Ilsenine whispers, "I did so much that could have been done better, spared so many more and..."
"Shh." The Queen's voice soothes that in a mere instant, silence coming as Ilsenine's tears are dried.
"Afina, open a portal before Aurora. There is a third whom must be here." The Queen commands.
Nodding wordlessly, Afina turns her head to where she had knelt earlier and with a few words of magic forms a Gate to Elysium right in front of Aurora.
Hopefully this won't draw the same response Renbuu's intrusion earlier did. Well, Lathander suggested he was friends with Titania the first time she met him...
The gate opens and Crystal flies through. She kneels before the Queen, "As you have called, I answer," she responds, head bowed.
"Rest a moment," Titania commands, as the portal maintains itself, even without your power. "Afina, Ilsenine. You have questions. Ask them. We have a little time yet before we must awaken."
"Why was the Gray on Lifasa?" Afina asks the one question that brought her here.
"To watch," Her Majesty says, "There is no compact between Hell and the Unseelie in this matter. The Gray is used as an observer, not as a force to accomplish her will or support others."
It was as she expected then, just touring where Bel made his appearance, but they had to be sure. The risks of a second front opening like that were too great. She doesn't actually have any other meaningful questions. Titania/Morwel already answered the big ones for her when she told of her plan for Creation, Afina's time in Yggdrasil answered the mysteries of existence to her satisfaction. Anything else would just be seeking unneeded reassurance. But Ilsenine certainly has questions of her own.
In Afina's mind she hears Morwel's voice. 'Fear not. I am always but a prayer away. Do not be afraid to when you need reassurance, my child. You will see many more ordeals in your life.'
Ilsenine is quiet, dreadfully quiet for a time. She finally speaks up, "...Was it worth it? What I did to so many of my subjects? What I did to Afina? She's one of them."
Another gentle pat by the Queen, "What's done is done. Both of your feelings are conflicted, but in the end, you have each other. Be strong in that rather than in regrets of the past, Ilsenine."
"We don't know the path not taken," Afina volunteers, nodding at Titania/Morwel's offer of further reassurance. But she feels like she only has to remember this moment and her earlier words in times of trouble and she'll be fine. "I am strong because of it, that is truth."
"Thank you," Ilsenine whispers, "I am done, Your Majesty."
"Afina, Ilsenine. Return to Aurora and see to those there that will aid you. Crystal will return soon. Woe that I must do this early, but there is no choice. Come, Crystal." The Queen says.
Fluttering off Titania/Morwel's knee, Afina nods to Crystal as she has an idea of what's in store for the knight. But she has her own task now, and so with Ilsenine she flies through the still open gate back to Aurora.
Ilsenine follows - and outside is a legion. A legion of eladrin, a great, glorious host awaiting you. They are the fire and lightning, vengeance and glory, life and death. What can only be an army awaits, as Titania's voice is heard one last time.
"They are yours to command, Aurora. Use them wisely and for Lifasa."
Well then, they'd best prove worthy of it. Closing the gate behind her so Crystal can do her thing, she flutters up higher to look over the host now joining them. "You all know why you're here!" she calls out in her adorably cutesy voice, projecting as loud as she can manage. "With your strength joining ours, we'll overthrow Hell and free Lifasa! Welcome to the Crusade!"
"FOR LIFASA!" The eladrin call as one, an overwhelming wave of sound.
I presume you'll be sorting all of this out?
Yeah, getting everyone accommodated and integrated should be a good test of Afina's administrative abilities and take up the rest of her day.
Indeed.
Soon enough you're with Adrian by the gates, many of Aurora's officers gathering. "Whew," Adrian says, Gisfal already out there, "Gisfal's still getting the headcount, but we're going to be full all over again. Good thing Elena's working on that demiplane we absorbed. All of these are from the Court of Stars?"
"Yes," Afina confirms. "Arborea has been our oldest and most committed ally, and Queen Morwel is making sure we have what we need for the final battles to come."
The faintest nod to that as Adrian keeps his voice down, "Did she mention exact numbers?"
"No," Afina shakes her head. "But the leaders of the new arrivals should know who they have under them and in what numbers, stop anyone sneaking in that way so long as we're alert."
Gisfal soon returns, "I have a census. We have approximately 3,000 eladrin warriors freed from various postings across the planes, with promises of more as well as reinforcements as we need them."
"That makes our forces half again bigger than they were," Afina says after a moment's thought. "We'll have to get them integrated, be a few days before we're ready for any major battles. Though I'd like to keep up the raids and capture or assassination attempts on traitors while we prepare for our next big push."
"We'll have a real army number-wise when we get everyone's additions," Adrian says, "Enough to really punch Hell in the face."
"Enough that we must be decisive and victorious. The Outer Planes are numerous beyond counting, but few agents and soldiers stand idle, for there are as many battlefields as there are imaginations." Gisfal says. "In the meantime I agree. Beginning anew tomorrow, as I fear all of our services are needed in the meanwhile."
That's basically it for Afina for the day, I think.
Pretty much. There's a scene with Crystal when she returns, but not right away. I'm going to pause you for now so I can focus on the dungeon those two are in.
It's fairly late - you slept a few hours to clear your mind and just relax more than anything else, needing the time to process the day's events. You're curled up on your shelf, warm and as comfortable as you can get there. It's then that your door is knocked on, several times before it's repeated several times more.
Blinking into the visible spectrum, Afina sits up and flutters into the air, adjusting her hat from where it had fallen down the back of her head. "Come in," she calls.
It is Crystal.
One needs only to look at her to see something is different. A feel to her, something you see and yet is unseen. A sense of difference, of eternity.
Crystal meets your gaze and merely says, "I'm back and Her Majesty's will has been done."
"You knew it was going to happen someday," Afina says with a slight smile as she looks over her fellow pixie. "Come in and tell me about it?"
Crystal does so. "Her Majesty told me it was for the good of Lifasa and to reward my service and dedication. Thus, I am more able to fight for Lifasa's freedom, enhanced in every way, much as you have been enhanced by the elements.""
"We've seen the truth of Yggdrasil, where the fey came from," Afina says in response to Crystal's value-neutral answer. "There's nothing to mourn, if anything we cleave more truly to our root now."
"You are correct," Crystal smiles, "I am as I was once before, and shall be until matters are healed. Do not be afraid to call on me for aid, for no enemy shall stop me now."
"So what was talking to her like for you?" Afina asks to get away from the mechanics of promotion and investiture of power to something with more heart. "I didn't say much, but what I heard... it was really comforting," she smiles, going to sit on her bed, legs dangling over the edge. "I was told about her Majesty's plans for the inner planes, and how I've already realised that in myself, how she was proud of me and that everything's going to be okay. It was nice, something I needed to hear."
"It was....the most wonderful thing I've ever heard," Crystal smiles softly, "She told me that I had made everyone proud, that my faith was an example against Hell's darkness. That I was the shining knight who will save many in her name." She flutters down next to you, "You understand."
"Just the thing to lift our spirits for the hard battles ahead," she nods. "Who would have thought we'd ever end up like this. Privy to the greatest secrets of our race, feted by Titania/Morwel herself, exemplars of our kind. Not bad for a knight and an assassin."
"We've come so far. We're now the champions Lifasa needs." Crystal takes your hand. "Not bad at all, and soon we will be the legends that saved Lifasa."
"Just a little bit longer and we will," Afina agrees with a squeeze of Crystal's hand, not doubting their inevitable victory.
Good on that one there?
Yep.
Let me pause you for the moment then. It's almost pausing time and I need to get my ducks in a row for your end now.
Locking this one after this, but day 86 is beginning. Any todos for it, Afina?
Afina's going to attack this place:
- Rime Tower. A tower of black ice risen amid the inferno of Lifasa by powerful magic. Geluons within practice magic that deals with ice and insects - the latter by adding insectile grafts to captive mortals, turning them into strange creatures - if they survive the procedures.
She'll grab Crystal, Bubbles, and Cresiel for it, and ask Balyss if she has any useful knowledge from above to share about the place or who might be resident when we visit.
Okay, new topic incoming then.