Forbidden Forest

 

Elissa woke up to the sounds of battle, her eyes opened to the alien sky that has become so familiar as of late. She didn’t feel groggy or anything, just hyper aware of what was going on around her, everything was exacerbated; the noises, the smells, she could even see the radiance of the moon illuminating everything as in plain around her, the light of the stars actually looked closer.

The young woman heard the thumps of multiple hearts, the strongest was from Aghri’s, the rhythm of it relaxed her. She breathed in and out, slowly trying to regain control of her senses; even her seventh sense was acting up, which was proven by the currents of mana she saw in the atmosphere, the aptly named aether currents.

“This is new.” Elissa said aloud.

Aghri’s heartbeat sped up and his serpentine head hovered over hers, <Mistress!>

“Hey, big white.” Elissa said as the pseudodragon’s head approached hers and began to lick her face.

<Elissa!> The black female pseudodragon climbed Elissa’s body and came to lick her face too. Despite herself, her scanning vision activated and realized that her familiar had a broken wing.

“Rilo, you’re hurt!” The young woman’s power acted subconsciously and her familiar felt her wing heal instantly.

“What the…”

*That’s dangerous! What if she’d healed badly!!*

<Thanks Elissa!> Rilo shouted as she moved her previously broken wing, the pseudodragon licked her face and then jumped into the air and hovered.

Elissa stopped moving and emptied her mind of thoughts; anything she was going to do would make her powers react, and she didn’t dare speak either. Gone was her conscious control of her powers, what if she spoke and began to control her friends and familiars with her siren song ability?

A gasp emitted by a familiar dwarf princess was all the warning Elissa got before she was dogpiled by the rest of the sisterhood. Brunhilda the long haired dwarf princess began to tighten her hug on Elissa, she even forgot that she had her armor on and this effusion of feelings and reassurance became rather annoying to the young woman.

This little bit of annoyance that Elissa felt caused her new and enhanced power to lash out, and the dwarf maidens found themselves all being electrocuted. As they cried out in pain, Elissa realized what was happening and stood up to jump out of the way. That is how she found herself completely naked two meters from Aghri who looked at her askance.

Brunhilda recovered first and looked around her, then found Elissa’s naked form not too far from her and glared. “What was that!!”

“I-” Elissa almost said, but she shook her head to not have to speak, not wanting to let her abilities out.

She decided to write instead of vocally explaining what’s happening to avoid any kind of accident. She raised her left index finger that glowed with golden mana and let a string of glowing words in dwarven do the speaking for her.

I don’t know what’s happening, my abilities, my senses, my body and powers… Everything is different. It’s like I have no conscious control over them! Elissa wrote.

Brunhilda narrowed her eyes. “Huh, dat’s kinna be good.” The dwarf princess couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose control of herself like that and thought about how scared her friend must be. She turned her eyes to her recovering dwarf brunette friend and shouted, “Sizalda! Break out yer tools, tha Lady needs help!”

Sizalda stood up and patted herself checking to see if anything was amiss or broken, testing each of her limbs; she calmly looked at Brunhilda and asked, “Then, shouldn’t we ask her Handmaidens? They seemed tae be in the know about her abilities.”

“Tssk. They seem busy trying tae beat out the poop out of dat dark elf.” Narsenelyn said as she rolled her eyes. She sat up where Elissa had laid unconscious previously and was recovering from the electrical shock.

What? Elissa wrote as she looked at Narsenelyn.

“Yer handmaidens are pretty set into chasin’ out tha dark elf dat saved us and helped take care of ya when you got out of tha ice construct dat was healin’ ye.”

What are you talking about? Ice Construct? Elissa wrote.

“Yes, it looked like an Ice Casket or somethin’.”

Elissa stopped moving, her eyes unfocusing; she looked thoughtful. And all of a sudden, finally things clicked in her head, she remembered that Siodhanth had taken one of her legs and burned her alive. She shouldn’t be whole, then Daphne’s mention of her Ice Casket keeping her alive in the Dreamscape and what Hekate had told her about taking care of her body in the material world.

*Mother Hekate, why?* Elissa prayed, but she didn’t receive any answer. Her frustration caused sparks of electricity to surround her, her dwarf friends stepped back from her, even Rilo and Aghri retreated.

*I am a danger to myself and my friends.* Elissa thought, *I need answers!*

The flash of magic and weapons thirty meters from her caught her eyes, Elissa could see Fenirael being overwhelmed by an attractive female dark elf. Reinatiel tried to burn her with dark fire but her magic missiles were absorbed into some kind of red portal and sent back to her. Elissa’s annoyance morphed into anger and without wanting to she found herself already between the three combatants. Fenirael was sent flying and Elissa had the dark elf’s neck in her hand.

Her subconscious was more in control at this point than her conscious thoughts.

“Mistress!” Reinatiel shouted happily.

Elissa didn’t have the time to ponder the ramifications of what was happening to her, nor answer her familiar, she looked directly into the eyes of the dark elf and gasped as she felt a spiritual connection between her and this elf open; instantly it became solid, it was as if something had clicked into place. The sensation caused Elissa to let go of Dicinna and step back, reddening as she noticed the female dark elf’s gaze roving over her body.

“Mistress, please get out of the-” Reinatiel wasn’t given the time to finish speaking as Rilo swooped out of the sky and breathed a little ball of electricity that caught her on the ass.

“Rilo!” Reinatiel put a hand on her rear as she felt the shock, and looked surprised and betrayed at the same time.

Rilo hissed in menacingly. <Enough, Rei, this is useless. Is this how you repay someone who helped me and the mistress?>

“I…” Reinatiel’s outrage melted under the combined gazes of Elissa and Rilo. She knew that what she had been doing was rude and threw umbrage on her mistress’ reputation.

Rei, you and your sister stay there; we need to talk. Elissa wrote with a glowing finger.

Then Elissa turned to Dicinna and switched the language she wrote in to Elvish. As for you, I don’t know who you are. But I am told you helped us, and I thank you for it, this is the first time a dark elf didn’t attack us on sight, and I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but try to cross me and this time next year will be the anniversary of your death.

“Understood.” Dicinna nodded, sheathing her weapons and going toward her camp, but not before letting her eyes stare at Elissa who was doing the same to her.

Elissa found Dicinna attractive, dangerous and stylish, when their gazes connected there was some kind of anticipation there that the two had for each other. They didn’t realize that they had the same thought when they broke eye contact and returned to their business. *Later.*

The young woman turned to where Fenirael and Reinatiel waited for her with bated breath, seeing this, Elissa’s eyes narrowed on them. Rich in her knowledge of what was going on now, the little things and quirks of her two familiars could finally be explained. Why they considered themselves handmaidens or how they always hovered over her, the name of the ice ship she created weeks ago.

*They already knew and they have been having fun with my ignorance.* Elissa thought as a storm cloud formed in the sky and thunder rumbled. Her mood had turned dark.

However, she noted the other good times she had with them, laughing together and taking care of each other; those has been genuine. So, Elissa calmed down and centered herself, she couldn’t let go of her temper. Slowly she walked to them but despite her intent, she arrived almost instantly before them.

*Hel.*

Rei, Feni. I am forced to speak this way as everything, my powers, body and magic have been acting up since I woke up. Elissa wrote.

“What?” Fenirael didn’t understand why this was happening.

Reinatiel did, in the Sanctum she had read about the Ruler’s Sleep in the carefully regulated section of the archive reserved to the members of the family. As owner of the place Malicia could have access to them, and as Reinatiel and her sister are co-familiar of Elissa and her adoptive mother she had taken steps to know everything about this line. The demoness knew how the royal bloodline has been engineered by adding special powers and genes from the Jotun, Ice Drakes and Ice Phoenixes by Dark Hekate.

“I know what is happening, Mistress. Do you want to know my opinion.” Reinatiel said confidently.

I value your opinions. Elissa wrote. But she was still taking her decision concerning her two familiars, even now Elissa could see the other bond they shared with Malicia. That made them a liability to her, as she simply didn’t trust anything having to do with her adoptive mom.

“Very well, Mistress.” Reinatiel smiled at that, feeling valued was always appreciated. “Mistress, you have been grievously wounded or at death’s door and this activated a process called Ruler’s Sleep. It forms an ice construct around you with the goal to heal and protect you. It also seems able to do correct everything wrong going on with your body. And Hekate knows there were a lot.”

Please continue. Elissa wrote, her eyes narrowing at the explanation about this ability of hers that she didn’t even know she had. Reinatiel faltered a bit at Elissa’s expression, Fenirael felt that something was wrong with their mistress but she kept silent.

The demon mage coughed and continued her explanation. “Yes, hum. You see, Mistress you were considered malnourished to us, the environment on Earth simply can’t give you enough cosmic energy for you to arrive safely at adulthood.”

Elissa’s shoulders sagged.

Not enough ambient cosmic energy compared to Svartalfheim which has it in spades. Elissa was clear about it, it was like being in an ocean when she was in a kiddy pool previously.

Elissa worried for Cassandra, she didn’t have enough ambient energy like her. She vowed that even if her relationship with her adoptive mother fell through that she would always be there for Cassandra. In fact, she already had a plan to kidnap her sister. Elissa didn’t intend to go back to Earth on Malicia’s terms.

“Now the Ruler’s Sleep seems to have changed your body and magic, you’ll have to reacclimate yourself with how your body works. You are going through years worth of your species puberty all at once.”

<Elissa you smell a bit like an elemental now.> Rilo intervened as she landed at Elissa’s feet, gluing her right flank to her mistress’ ankle.

Reinatiel answered, “This is actually normal, Rilo. Mistress Elissa is part elemental…”

What?! Elissa wrote in haste as she widened her eyes at the demoness. A breeze of air hit Reinatiel at Elissa’s outburst.

“Mistress I thought you knew, I mean you have affinities with ice and storm elements and you have ancestors who weren’t quite human.” Reinatiel carefully worded her answer to Elissa, still banking on her mistress not knowing her true parentage.

This made Elissa grow cold, and it showed as the air became frigid around them. Elissa scowled at her handmaiden.

You don’t have to walk on shells anymore, I know that Malicia is not my mother, Rei. Elissa wrote quickly, Reinatiel could feel the sarcasm from the text and her mistress’ expression.

“Ah. I didn’t see that one coming…” Reinatiel just like her sister now picked up on the reserved body language Elissa had adopted with them, like there was a wall between them. Fenirael saw it quickly, that was why she had kept silent. Reinatiel lowered her eyes in shame, she was caught lying and this was a breach of trust that Elissa rarely forgave.

I had a discussion with Mother Hekate, she told me everything. To say that I am pissed off… I am beyond angry, I have been lied to and everything I have been through could have been explained with hours of conversation and honesty. It wouldn’t have diminished my feelings for Malicia. I still consider her my mom, but I don’t trust her anymore. Elissa’s mood shifted enough for another storm cloud to form in the sky and for a light drizzle to fall on them.

And you two have a choice to make, I love you; but you’ll have to choose between me and her. This is non-negotiable. I will give you time to make your choice but the simple fact of seeing you two still connected to her through a bond is pissing me off. That’s why I want you to return to the ring. Elissa wrote as she showed her right hand with the ring on her other index.

“Mis-’ Reinatiel wanted to protest but Fenirael stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder, she shook her head.

Reinatiel looked on with despair at Elissa whose eyes showed that she was serious. The demon mage understood and the two of them entered their pocket dimension linked to the ring. Warm tears ran down Elissa’s cheeks as it hurt her to treat her best friends like this, but like she said they had a choice to make and she hoped that they would choose her.

---

Day 45
23rd of Felsite, Early Morning
Forbidden Forest

 

Dicinna was surprised to see the dwarf twins that had been almost dead, getting up from the health sled. They had been stripped of their armor and healed thoroughly, their bodies now in pristine condition with their skin as smooth as babes, the little imperfections they had accumulated having been healed compared to their previously mangled look. To their friends, the twins looked younger somehow, in their twenties.

The dark elf’s gaze found itself on Elissa who now wore a dwarfish armor that she had seen many times on dwarf rogues, a nightscale armor; it was dark blue and looked built for speed and movement. The materials though were different from normal and Dicinna recognized Drake skin and Mithril… now she knew Lady Dragonfang wasn’t a Gold coin pincher.

Some of the dwarf women were still sleeping in the fortification they had built; it wasn’t the best but they had slept comfortably. Weirdly, no monsters dared to come in the wasteland created by the fight. Elissa stood and came toward Dicinna looking at her appraisingly.

“Dicinna Zerloth.” The dark elf introduced herself by putting a fist on her left breast saluting in her people’s fashion.

“Elissa Dragonfang.” The young woman slightly bowed, her eyes never leaving Dicinna for a second.

Elissa had been looking at her surreptitiously all night for a reason that she couldn’t guess. But she felt positive that she liked the woman, she wasn’t intrusive and kept to herself. But she felt her gaze on her at all times.

They stayed like this for another thirty seconds, and to break the awkwardness it was Elissa who broke the ice first. “Thanks for your help, some of my guildmates might have died without you.”

This surprised Dicinna who cocked her head. “Guildmates? They are not a random dwarf band you have hired?”

Elissa raised her eyebrows at Dicinna’s assumption. As she crossed her arms she said, “Of course not, they are my friends. We created a guild together.” The young woman said, then she approached the dark elf and put a hand on her shoulder, “Say, you want to join it?”

If she had been anyone else, Dicinna wouldn’t have let her get away with invading her personal space, but she didn’t mind at all that Elissa did it. She liked being touched by Elissa and having the young woman's eyes on her.

More importantly, she blanked up at the offer, she had been invited to countless guilds for her abilities and had tried one or two but they had asked commitments and services out of her that ethically didn’t sit well with her.

“Are you joking?” Dicinna raised an eyebrow as she said this.

But this was the start of a guild, it might be different this time… As the first Mythril level adventurer in it she could use her experience and reputation to set up or shape good policies in it. Dicinna was intrigued.

Elissa recognized the fact that Dicinna was interested and added, “I am not when I see someone that interests me.” She said sultrily.

In her heart she didn’t understand why she did this, flirt with the dark elf female that she just met; but all her questions flew the window when she saw Dicinna blush cutely while averting her eyes and absently saying, “Hum, where do I sign?”

Elissa smirked and her face was sporting the expression of a predator that had found new prey; she took a buckler shaped silver brooch with a white dragon showing his fangs decorating it from her spatial toe ring, one of only two enchanted items she had been wearing that had survived Siodhanth’s dragonfire.

“Nice artwork.” Dicinna praised as she looked at the brooch.

“Drew it myself.” Elissa said laconically. “Do you want me to pin it on?” The young woman teased.

Dicinna nodded. This is how the start of the morning happened between them, until the dwarven women woke up and looked at the subtle flirting the two were doing.

As she observed them, Narsenelyn thought that someone should just tell Elissa about the choosing. But she wasn’t enough of a friend to her and directly looked at Brunhilda and Sindanelyn and nodded at them to do something. Sindanelyn averted her gaze and continued to look at her destroyed armor while Brunhilda nodded and would do something about it. The Earth Bender sighed, content with having done something about it.

The dwarven princess was happy that her friend could speak again, Elissa hadn’t been able to speak till an hour ago when she had inadvertently used her power on Brunhilda who had pinched her bottom while she was still naked and Elissa had told her to stop and the Princess stopped moving for thirty minutes; after panicking Elissa discovered how to separate her abilities from her normal voice by testing benign orders on her.

Once the sun had risen completely in the sky and that everyone had had breakfast, Elissa called for a meeting and created chairs with her magic but due to control issues they looked more like stools. The young woman growled at this problem, so Dicinna put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It worked and she casually leaned against the dark elf, but caught herself quickly and apologized.

“Now that we are all here, we can begin the first executive meeting of the Sisterhood.” Elissa announced primly as she crossed her legs and put her hands on her thighs.

“Aye.” The Dwarf women all said with varying degrees of seriousness.

“First, I want to say how lucky I am to have met you girls. You came back for me and looked after me.” Elissa looked at each of the women and in particular at Dicinna who she checked out from the corner of her eye. Weirdly, Elissa didn’t mind her being at her side.

“It’s ok, M’Lady. Ya tried to protect us, ah thanks ye.” Nabideth said giving Elissa a thumbs up.

“Ye would’ve come back for us.” Brunhilda shrugged and left it at that.

“Right, hum girls. We beat the dragon of the forbidden forest, Siodhanth for our first outing as a guild. Now I think we need to consolidate our hold on this territory.” Elissa said.

“Ye mean ‘yer’ territory? We feel dat dis land has been reclaimed by ye; when did ye have tha time tae do dat?” Brunhilda asked her friend and guildmaster.

Elissa face showed a faraway look. “I think it’s when I was still healing.”

Sizalda’s eyes gleamed, she was interested by their guildmaster’s abilities and magic. Each time Elissa did something new she saw phenomenons that shouldn’t have been possible from what the dwarven and elven magic system she knew described.

“What do ye plan tae do with tha territory?” Astagith asked, she played with the head of her spear, sharpening the blade.

Everyone looked at Elissa waiting for her to tell them, after all the forbidden forest was at the foot of the Lesay mountains and a route passing through it was finally possible and would let the dwarves expand on the surface more easily. Brunhilda wasn’t sure that things would be that easy with Elissa though.

Elissa smiled. “I will erect ice walls around the forest, no one will enter it without my say so. It’s mine by right of conquest and hmm, I plan to do something big to mark it as such. There’s going to be a toll to pay if someone wants to pass through the forest.”

Everyone looked at Elissa as if she was the most evilest being around, what was worse was that she didn’t even notice and just smiled casually at them and continued to speak, “Now girls, we need to find Siodhanth’s lair and take care of the loot. I have a plan to find it.” The young woman said, playing with one of her blond forelocks with her eyes shining with mischievousness.

Narsenelyn had stayed silent while Elissa had been speaking, but now she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “When ye say it like that… ah’m scared!” The dwarf woman shook her head as she looked at the sun-elf.

Elissa laughed at the earth bender. When her gaze became more serious she continued with, “First I am going to rename the forest Dragonfall.”

The dwarf women began to laugh at that, “Nice pun! A Dragon died here, it’s fitting.”

Siodhanth has been a plague on their people for two thousand years, enough time for her to become the boogeymen for children. The Dragoness had raided the Iron Fang mine and settlements countless times over the centuries, the advancements produced by the dwarf race were proportional to the duration of the conflict they had with her. They didn’t respect the dead dragoness at all and were just relieved that she had finally croaked.

The meeting died off, but before everyone left for seeking the dragon’s lair Brunhilda choose to address something that had been bothering her since they had found Elissa in the wasteland.

“Say, Elissa. Why did yer hair turn platinum blonde all of a sudden.”

Elissa froze, the atmosphere suddenly grew colder with the young woman’s cryokinesis acting up again. She had been trying to ignore this for a while, deluding herself into thinking that this part of her that she really liked hadn’t changed. After all it was one of the symbols that she was part of Malicia’s family and Cassandra’s sister. Brunhilda realized that she had stepped on a landmine and kicked herself mentally for it.

“I don’t want to speak about it, I am not ready to address it. In fact do any of you know something about cosmetic magic?” Elissa asked.

Everyone looked at Sizalda who reluctantly raised her hand, Dicinna did the same. She had to use this to alter her person in intelligence gathering jobs after all.

“You two, we will have a tête-à-tête later.” Elissa said, then she stood from her stool and left the stone tower.

The rest of the dwarf women and Dicinna glared at Brunhilda. “I didn’t know it was a touchy subject!” She whined, lowering her eyes and tightening her fists in frustration.

Everyone harrumphed and stood to follow Elissa, they had already emptied the tower that Narsenelyn returned to the earth with her powers. Dicinna stared at Elissa who was looking at the icy ground before she crouched to pick up something she found. It was a two handed red sword that she wielded with one hand, Elissa suddenly injected her mana into it and flames emerged from the blade.

The platinum blonde did some sword katas from the Inshek Martial arts with it, holding the sword in a half swording stance, a slash and then stab. To finish she used the windcutter technique and delivered a ranged attack that rent the air and ground before her producing a giant windblade that hit a giant boulder and cut it in two.

“Hmm, not a good enough blade. Too light.” Elissa said, with Gram or Ghostwalker this strike wouldn’t have been blocked by a boulder.

Dicinna backpedalled away from Elissa dumbfounded by what she had seen, she was afraid and… aroused by seeing her intended in action. Brunhilda came running at Elissa with stars in her eyes and shouted, “That’s Magmel! Siodhanth was using it in the fight yesterday.”

Brunhilda was a fan of the dwarf hero Sirvin, the man that founded the Metalarm guild and helped clear out the lower dark of the dwarven kingdom. He had tried to kill Siodhanth and almost succeeded if it wasn’t for her treachery. The dragoness had kept Magmel for her own uses.

Elissa rolled her eyes, this weapon had almost killed her and it didn’t fit her at all. “I don’t like it, you can have it Hilda.”

The Dwarf Princess looked at her friend and with emotion in her voice she said, “You would give it back to the Dwarf race? This is a historical weapon, made by the best Dwarves of its time.”

Elissa walked to her friend and held the sword in her two hands. “It’s a bad blade, Fire aligned. I prefer my Dragontooth, to this.” She said almost absently. Wanting to do something good for the dwarves for once she began to say in a solemn tone, “Hmm, I officially return Magmel to the dwarf race, Princess Brunhilda.”

Elissa crouched and held the sword to Brunhilda who accepted it with tears in her eyes. “Ah thank ye in tha name of me mother tha High-Queen and the dwarf people, Friend Elissa.”

Clap. “Now that this formal shite is done with, let’s go look for the dragon’s lair!” Elissa stood up and cheered, breaking the solemn atmosphere.

It made the others laugh, while Brunhilda was still all tears. Dicinna’s mind went in a very different direction, *What sort of guild have I joined? Brunhilda is Nirnyahr's fucking second princess!*

She followed everyone absently as they avoided the big craters made by Elissa and Siodhanth’s fight. Elissa Dragonfang was something else, she was really strong, fast and her magic was out of this world; then her party of Dwarf women seemed to all have some kind of specialities, were they also members of the aristocracy from the dwarven kingdom? The dark elf had a lot of questions, but it seemed that she wouldn’t be able to get her answers any time soon.

They left the wasteland to enter the forest that seemed to have gone silent as they walked through it. There were no bird calls, or other animal calls. Only the noise of the trees leaves and of the other plants and flora being disturbed by the wind.

The blonde could feel a gloomy aura from the trees, to her scanner eyes they were losing vitality; this wasn’t good at all. “The trees are slowly withering, Siodhanth must have been using the nexus and her inner fire to help regulate the temperature in the forest. We will have to do something about it.” Elissa casually said as she froze a bog solid before the party.

“Are ye sure ye can?” Sizalda asked. The dwarf brunette looked around her with her observation goggles and she noticed that Elissa was right, it was subtle but the forest was withering.

Elissa bit her lower lip and thought hard on how she would achieve this, not alone at least. “Yes, if Reinatiel helps me with the Mythal I intend to work on.”

Brunhilda asked, “Where are tha handmaidens by tha way.” She had found it weird that Fenirael and Reinatiel weren’t around Elissa, protecting her or helping her do things.

The platinum haired young woman’s voice became cold and filled with bitter anger. “I sent them back to their pocket dimension, I have some personal issues with my Matriarch that have caused some division of loyalties. Please, don’t pry too much.”

Elissa was still looking ahead but the weight of her words had stopped everyone behind her cold. They resumed walking and began to understand the situation, noble families were filled with drama and Astagith and the common born dwarf women were happy that Elissa didn't want to involve them in her affairs.

Narsenelyn voiced their thoughts with an, “Alright.” The earth bender put a hand in her overall’s front pocket and surveyed the ground with her psychic senses for any surprises; she used a spell that gave her a tremor sense to get by and see far ahead for any threats. Elissa used the same form of power but with her wind magic that had suddenly grown so much that it had surprised her, with the air around her as her ally she could feel around an area of one kilometer but with no good details, at a distance of three hundred meters she could feel everything happening, leaves falling to the ground or fleeing animals.

As for Dicinna, she didn’t know what to think, *Was it my fault?* Her familiars not being around was it really because of a conflict of interest or something more? She didn’t want to think about politics, since it bore her to death. Dicinna decided to act as a scout and said that she would be scouting ahead of them, used her Pass Without Trace spell and disappeared from view.

“Poor Elissa, she must have it rough. Maybe we are more alike than ah thought.” Brunhilda whispered to Astagith who shook her head as she didn’t want to get mixed up in noble affairs.

Rilo and Aghri swooped down from the sky and landed soundlessly at Elissa’s side; she crouched and began to scratch the top of their head.

“Did you have a good hunt?” Elissa asked to her two familiars.

Aghri licked Elissa’s fingers and said, <We feasted on Direwolves.>

<I tried to eat a giant but he fled…> Rilo whined, she lowered her head and tail in dejection.

“Aww that’s too bad, don’t worry I will catch one for you.” Rilo had become quite fond of humanoid meat, Elissa will have to watch that.

The pseudodragons followed the guild and were happily playing around them or taunting Brunhilda. It was afternoon when Dicinna came back with the news of having found a cave in a hill sized stone formation. Narsenelyn asked the dark elf adventurer which color this stone formation was and if she had touched it, if it was brittle. Dicinna answered, “It was grey and black and surprisingly there’s gravel at the entrance of the cave.”

“Siodhanth was heavy enough tae turn some of tha stone into gravel, maybe dis was a crystal mine before.” Narsenelyn told everyone and then she added, “We will need tae be careful in there, when we get inside ah might need tae reinforce tha structure.”

“Do what you can, Narse.” Elissa patted the earth bender’s shoulder who slightly smiled at her.

The dark elf nodded at Elissa and said, “Follow me, I will bring you there.” She was about to leave when the “Thanks, Cinna.” of the platinum blonde made her stumble a bit. She wasn’t used to people shortening her name and when they tried to, she gutted them; however, this coming from her intended made her feel a weird sensation in her lower abdomen.

“Hum, y-you’re welcome.” Dicinna stuttered before walking away quickly.

Brunhilda waited for the dark elf to be out of hearing range to say to Elissa, “Ye tease, ye know she has tha hots for ye. Right?”

“I am not blind.” Elissa said, smiling.

Elissa didn't want to add more to her plate and tried to ignore Hilda who held her arm. “There’s something ye must know, Elissa.”

The young woman wasn't in the mood and delicately took her arm back, as her strength control was shot she had to be careful now. “Later, Hilda. I’m going to catch up to Cinna!”

Brunhilda sighed heavily and whispered, “Ye are so going tae regret blowing me off.”

She was going to laugh a lot when Elissa ended up married to the dark elf. Sullenly she followed the rest of the troup and looked around her; the forest gave way to a more rocky landscape and she wasn’t surprised to find a place looking like a quarry dug into the face of the biggest hill she had ever seen.

Elissa easily caught up to Dicinna and walked at her side trying to make conversation. The dark elf tried to stave off the interrogation as much as she could, she didn’t think that her intended was this outgoing and physical. Elissa liked to touch her arms or shoulders and complemented Dicinna on her haircut or how dashing she looked in her armor.

The dark elf also felt Elissa eyes on her body and particularly on her backside, at least she now knew Elissa found her appealing. They finally arrived at the cave, and Dicinna heaved a sigh of relief when Elissa became serious again and her narrowed eyes focused on the lair. Narsenelyn ran to their position and put a hand on the ground.

“Marble, Granite, Limestone and stone, here. Oooh Fire mana crystal? That’s a great find!” It was the first time Elissa saw Narsenelyn being excited about something and she found herself liking her more this way than her usual laconic self.

“Hmm, there is groundwater here.” Typically, groundwater was thought of as water flowing through shallow aquifers, but, in the technical sense, it could also contain soil moisture, permafrost (frozen soil), immobile water in very low permeability bedrock, and deep geothermal or oil formation water. Groundwater was hypothesized to provide lubrication that could possibly influence the movement of faults.

“I have plans for this place and this is a problem. Narse, can you do something for me?” Elissa made a come here gesture.

“What is it?” The dwarf woman asked and looked strangely at Elissa.

Elissa chuckled and made her sign to come to her. “It’s a surprise, c’mere.”

Narsenelyn obeyed reluctantly and the two of them began to speak heatedly, the dwarf woman took a notepad from her pack and began to sketch things. Dicinna spied on them and saw what Narsenelyn sketched, it was a really well drawn tower. It looked strong with countless towers, walls and battlements; it had gaping gates, great courts and was this space for a pits around it? Then Dicinna looked at the great spire and whistled.

The Dark Elf didn’t think that such a thing had been created even in the golden age of her people. “How tall is this.”

Elissa looked at Dicinna then simply patted her cheek before going back to giving directions to Narsenelyn. Dicinna didn’t like how her intended avoided the question, she sulked and just leaned against the wall of the cave entrance.

“The city will have to be underground Narse, and this groundwater problem needs to be fixed.” Elissa said aloud.

Narsenelyn looked as if Elissa had gave her an impossible task and her hands shook. “It won’t be easy, M’Lady normally ye’d need the help of hundred of me kind of mage tae do it…”

Everyone looked at the normally stoic earth bender, what had Elissa asked her to make her this nervous. A city? Here? Sizalda was intrigued and advanced toward them and listened.

Elissa harrumphed, put a knee on the ground and her hand on Narsenelyn’s shoulder; looking at her directly in the eyes. “You won’t need them, Narse.” She said with confidence. “You have me and the power of this Nexus. Are you at least willing to try?”

Narsenelyn didn’t know Elissa that much, but everything that she said would happen has happened. She defeated a dragon for Holaf’s sake… and the black haired dwarf saw in Elissa’s eyes that she was certain of her abilities and seemed to place a lot of trust in her. Narsenelyn didn’t want to betray such… expectations, so she found herself saying, “This will be me first time, M’Lady but ah need the practice.”

“Excellent.” Elissa said as she stood up and patted her friend on the shoulder. She looked at the gaping cave entrance and said, “First we are going to go loot everything and then we will take a look at what we are going to work with.”

“Rilo and Aghri enter first and if you smell something come tell me.” Elissa ordered her familiars who spread their wings and flew inside the stone cave, keeping their link open to let Elissa see inside. The young woman turned to the brown haired dwarf woman and said, “Sizalda my dear, could you light the way with one of your items please?”

Sizalda checked in her space ring and came up with two silvery orbs that floated around her when she injected mana into them. The dwarf sent the first one ahead of them and the last one behind them. It was decided that Nabideth would protect their rear while Brunhilda would protect their fore. Brunhilda smirked as she saw Dicinna come to Elissa’s side and that she began to unconsciously glue her shoulder to the dark elf’s.

*I had tried to tell her, but she rebuffed me. Now I’m going to watch the drama, just like Narse is.* The princess thought as she placed a lock of her hair out of her view.

It was a minute later when everyone was walking deeper into the tunnel whose walls were covered in red mana crystals that they finally arrived in the main cavern. It was huge and Sizalda’s Light Orbs showed a spectacle they would never forget in their life. There was a mountain of gold coins, gems and precious ingots that matted the ground. In the center of the cavern there was a badly made throne made of a certain metal and encrusted with gems that Elissa was familiar with.

Sizalda fainted, Narsenelyn was all smiles, the Dragonguard twins high-fived each other; Brunhilda kept silent, gazing at the treasures before her.

“Hmm it is less than what I found in the depth of the Dragon Turtle’s lair.” Elissa bragged as she kneeled and took an ancient gold coins in her hand, playing with it.

“A what?” Dicinna asked her intended, looking at her as if she was another person.

*Did she kill another legendary monster?* The dark elf asked herself. *If yes, why didn’t I find her earlier?! Such a good fight!*

Elissa answered her eagerly, “Well, I got ten times this whole cavern at Aryther, a Kraken killed a dragon turtle that had a really big lair under one of my island, so it must have been really old as there were sunken ships with their cargo hold intact in its lair. I killed the Kraken and took possession of the cavern and the treasure.”

It was a rather censored version of what happened in the end, she didn’t want anyone to know about the Majestic Temple.

Dicinna had stars in her eyes as she looked at Elissa, which made the platinum blonde give her a smile before focusing on the treasure before her. Everyone divided into four teams after Elissa gave them large spatial rings to store things.

Elissa was part of the Weapons and miscellaneous items retrieval with Sindanelyn and Dicinna and they scoured the gigantic cavern. Brunhilda, Astagith and Narsenelyn were responsible for gold, gems and ore ingots; Sizalda and the twins for any other sort of treasures. For the visibility in the cavern Sizalda procured more Light Orbs and made Elissa the person with the most mana amongst them charge them. The result was the cavern was illuminated in white light, not even an inch of it was shrouded in shadow.

“That should do it and… Rilo, Aghri what are you doing suspended to that stalactite?” Elissa caught the sight of her two familiars.

<It smells like True Dragon.> Aghri said, hissing while enclosing his wings around himself.

<Dangerous.> Rilo roared.

“Don’t worry my pretties, I killed her.” Elissa said, weirded out by the reaction of her familiars.

<No Elissa, you should cleanse the gold first, that’s what we mean.> Aghri told his mistress; as for Rilo looked at her mistress with pity, every pseudodragon knew the true reality of a dragon’s hoard.

Elissa cocked her head. “Oh? Oooh, yes the curses!!”

Then her brain fired and she realized her mistake. “Everyone stop! Take out what you have taken, I forgot about dispelling the curses!”

Everyone let go of whatever they were doing and came back to the middle of the cavern walking on the pile of gold.

“Damn, all dis work…” Brunhilda said tiredly as she almost stumbled because of a gold ingot.

“Don’t worry we can do this in an orderly fashion, Hilda.” Indeed Elissa made space by pushing out some gold coin and made the dwarf women take out what they had already pilfered and began to cast Remove Curse on each pile. Then it was the turn of the weapons she had amassed with Dicinna and Sindanelyn, she had found a pair of striking gauntlets that looked really evil but pleased her esthetic senses and decided that they would be hers. There was a dagger set that caught Dicinna’s eyes; it had the same Crystarium crystals as her armor embedded in the hilts and blades.

Elissa removed the nasty draconic curse on them, sheathed them and went to Dicinna, “This is yours.”

Dicinna said nothing and simply accepted them, and once again without knowing Elissa completed more of the Choosing ceremony by gifting something precious. Brunhilda snickered, the other dwarf women distanced themselves from the future drama and averted their eyes from it. The dark elf fastened the daggers’ sheath at her thigh holster and put her sword on her back.

She entered a fighting stance with her new daggers in a reverse grip, moved forward and began to kill some shadow enemies. Elissa noticed that Dicinna was used to fighting large groups. From how fast she moved and the movements of the air around her, she guessed that Dicinna was also strong, and faster than she could imagine.

*She didn’t give her all against Rei and Feni.* Elissa thought as she followed each of Dicinna’s movements.

She was also thinking about what would happen if she taught the dark elf Inshek. Elissa smiled broadly when the seeds of a plan germinated in her mind. Everyone stepped back from Elissa when they saw the cunning and demonic smile on her face, even Rilo and Aghri shivered when they saw her and hid in the stalactite formations on the ceiling.

Dicinna suddenly felt shivers down her back and neck, she looked at Elissa who had stopped smiling and observed how she moved. She shrugged, then sheathed her dagger and got back to work. Before storing everything Elissa began to use a Mass Remove Curse that did the job as she extended her psychic senses in the entire cavern. It took hours before some of the stony and earthy ground in the cavern could be seen.

The work continued well into sunset. As they had gathered all the gold, Mithril and Adamantite ingots tirelessly Elissa and Sizalda found the truly priceless treasures in the hoard.

It was first in the form of books, Grimoires to be more precise; sorcery, curses, high magic, node magic, elemental magic, there was a shocking amount of support spells. Knowledge was precious, so Elissa asked Sizalda to store them and once they were in Aryther they would study them. There were legendary weapons and armor from what the dwarf women said, but Elissa focused more on an old Valkyrie armor whose circlet was the only piece still usable as the rest of the armor was corroded or had lost its magic; the circlet had a powerful enchantment that gave the user powerful mental defenses and also could be used as a helmet.

*Siodhanth killed a lot of people from many different realms. The Dwarves must have been desperate to eradicate her. How will they react when the news of her death reaches them?* Elissa just shrugged at that and removed the dragoness’ curse on the Valkyrie circlet before putting it on.

Then Elissa almost fainted when Rilo came back with a blood red stone in her mouth. “Rilo come here! Give me what you found!”

Rilo looked at her, made sad eyes hoping that would make Elissa relent. But when the platinum blonde stomped her foot cracking the ground, Rilo took the stone in her mouth and brought it to Elissa.

The pseudodragon opened her mouth and the blood red stone reacted; Elissa had handled its kind only once before, it was when her Alchemy teacher Histreldia Bridgeburn had shown her the philosopher’s stone that she had made. So much power was contained inside that it sang to Elissa, the essence inside was so compressed that it gave the young woman an idea of how it was made.

It was like she held a nexus in her hand, when Histreldia had let her hold her own stone Elissa didn’t feel anything; but now? This must be the result of her training and recent development with the Ruler’s sleep. She could grasp what was here, with her enhanced mage-sight she could see that there was no curse bound to it and pocketed it in her spatial toe ring.

“What was it?” Brunhilda asked.

“The greatest treasure found here so far, I’m keeping it.” Elissa said vaguely as she narrowed her eyes at the princess.

Brunhilda raised her hands and said, “Nah, dat’s yer right. Ye defeated tha dragon.”

“If you are a good princess I will show you how big of a find it is.” Elissa quipped with a smile.

“Aye.” Brunhilda shook her head, letting it go at that and returned to work.

Later in the night, the loot was gathered, curses removed and it was so late that the Sisterhood decided to spend the night in the cavern. Elissa sat on Siodhanth’s throne and felt out of place on it, it didn’t strike any of her fancy; after all it was a mass of adamantite and mithril melted together loosely in the form of a big seat. But still, it was a symbol of power and Elissa would take it, shape it into her favorite throne and place it in her future palace.

She was not thinking of going back to Earth before settling things with her adoptive mother; the young woman wanted explanations from Malicia for her lies. Was it for love or because she had other reasons? Elissa tortured herself all night before choosing to go to sleep on her bedroll with the others. She didn’t even notice that her bedroll was side by side with Dicinna’s; she took off her Nightscale armor and slept in her undies in peace.

---

Day 46
24th of Felsite, Early Morning
Dragonfall
Siodhanth’s lair

 

“Are ye crazy?!” Shouted Brunhilda.

She was out of her armor and wore tight breeches and a red tunic with a golden pattern forming Griffins on it. The Sisterhood was eating a stew of Dragon Turtle meat that Reinatiel prepared. Elissa had let her familiars out to let them do this part of their services at least; Reinatiel intended to help Elissa in the construction of the Fortress she was planning to build.

Elissa wore a white short halter dress with green and silver patterns, she had on knee-high boots in white leather from an albino drake. Her vambraces and belt were made of mithril and artfully set with emeralds. This was an outfit she bought in Nirnyahr, it screamed magic user to her, the circlet she found yesterday went well with it.

The platinum blonde sat on an icy stool before the fire pit they had built for the stew. She blew on her spoon and then said to her friend, “Eh? Brunhilda, the distance between crazy and genius is paper thin.” she swallowed the really delicious meat whose taste exploded on her tongue.

Brunhilda faced her friend and said, “Elissa, ah know dat ye are used to some things on yer world, but we kinna raise a fortress with just Narse. In fact, we would need hundreds of dwarf benders tae do it. Dat’s common sense!”

Elissa looked at Brunhilda hotly. “Then screw common sense. I’m not waiting!”

Brunhilda stepped back, under Elissa’s gleaming and feral gaze.

Elissa didn’t have time to wait for a detachment of builders. The forest was dying, and in a week it wouldn’t be there anymore! This was her prize, HERS. Elissa froze, calmed down and shook her head, not knowing where this came from, but accepted it.

“And the method of building while not conventional will be facilitated, you don’t have to worry. I’ve seen my Matriarch do something similar.” Elissa said to defuse the situation, then began to eat anew.

However, Brunhilda was still scared. She wasn’t used to that kind of blow up from Elissa, and felt that something was wrong.

Reinatiel went behind Elissa holding a warm towel that she placed on her thighs. But the blonde ignored her, not even acknowledging her and it made her sad; Elissa would have said thank you and smiled at her before. The demoness was torn between her loyalty to Malicia and Elissa, her sister was even worse than her. Malicia had saved them when the Demon Fist army rose and tried to take her Queendom; she had liberated Fenirael and her from the influence of the Dark Lord who had their names by bestowing them new ones.

They were grateful, immensely so that they had pledged their lives to their mistress. Then they met Elissa and had been guarding her since she was kidnapped in France on Earth. Elissa was unaware that they were there, always watching and learning everything she liked, what she was like. Fenirael had been the first who fell for her when Elissa became proficient at combat and was always there for Cassandra. Then it had been Reinatiel’s turn when Elissa became a journeywoman in Alchemy, the demoness loved focused people; even more so when she discovered that it was to help her family.

Reinatiel had been ecstatic when their official job became to be Elissa’s handmaiden and familiars; their love might finally be realized! But it seemed that fate put a wrench in their seduction plan, the two demonesses knew that the secret of Elissa’s origin might be a point of contention between her and her mother, but didn’t expect that the drama would splash on them or that they would become the linchpin of a cruel joke that the Norns would play on them.

The demoness went back into her familiar dimension, seeing that her sister was still in meditation on her bed; seeking an answer since the ultimatum of their mistress.

A shroud of black magic surrounded Fenirael who stayed immobile. Fenirael hadn't said anything to her since yesterday, nor eaten anything; only relying on magic to sustain herself. This was one of the quirks of Demon physiology, mana could sustain them for years, it was only when there was an abundance of food that they would switch to eating solid food.

Reinatiel sat on her own bed, she looked around herself; in the pocket dimension tethered to the ring they had everything they could want, unlimited space to store their things, their bed, living room, training space. It was their home, and Queen Malicia had built it for them.

Elissa had no idea what she was asking them, if they broke their link with Malicia their powers and magic would change, some would disappear or just be lesser shades of what they were now. This was a big decision, warring with the orders given to them by Malicia about protecting Elissa.

Reinatiel thought that she knew where her sister’s true loyalty lay, but it was more difficult for her as she believed in her duty to follow orders. The demoness hugged her knees to herself and thought.

*I really want to take Elissa up on her offer, I want to be solely hers, but I also respect her adoptive mother and we have been her familiar for so long that we had already become dependent on the power and magic we are sharing with her…*

Fenirael could sense the doubts and struggles of her sister, but her mind was already made on the matter; she was just waiting for Reinatiel to arrive at the same conclusion as her. Power? Why does it matter when Elissa would inevitably surpass Malicia? In just a few short years. It was also easy to sense through their familiar bonds how much mana each of their owners possessed. If the warrior demoness just waited, she would be ready.

Meanwhile for Elissa, the morning rush settled as her and Narsenelyn were drawing the plan for Dragon Fang Tower. The dwarf woman was happily using Elissa’s access to her nexus to survey deep into the ground under the Cavern and ten kilometers around them. Narsenelyn could already see how she would help along the groundwater along by creating an underground river in the city they would create under the tower.

Sizalda and Sindanelyn came to give their expertise in designing the tower and city. Sizalda had ideas about an Aethernet, something she designed to facilitate the transport of people and goods; Sindanelyn wanted to design the defenses of the tower and make it even more impregnable.

It took another day to design the tower, and another for the walls that would grow around the forest. The entire Dragonfall forest would be enclosed by permafrost ice walls and the enchantment on them will form a kind of greenhouse effect allowing the vegetation to survive.

Brunhilda was contacted by an emissary of the Dwarven Kingdom on the enchanted mirror reserved for communication with the royal family. The messenger asked the princess if she was still in the Forbidden Forest since the guards saw her and her party run there, two days ago.

The Jarl of Iron Fang Settlement was deeply concerned that something had happened to her and that the light and fight he had seen coming from the forest could have been her duking it out with the dragon.

“Ah assure ye, we are all fine. Lady Dragonfang has slayen Siodhanth and now dat she has claimed the forest, she is laying the groundwork for an outpost of her Queendom she plans to place here.” She had said.

After this, Brunhilda was thoroughly questioned following her allegations. Jarl Ulfric learned that Dwarf Friend Elissa Dragonfang gave them back Magmel, the sword of the dwarf hero. The princess saw that the Jarl was touched by the gesture like she has been, and promised to report the situation to the King and Queen.

It was the next day that Elissa, Narsenelyn and Reinatiel began to work on the tower. Narsenelyn and the demon mage engraved a giant circle that took the entirety of the cavern's space; Elissa crushed fire crystals into powder and when she was finished transmuting, the powder was placed in the circle making it seem as if glass had been poured into the circle. The circle shone red, giving off low light even without the Light Orbs.

The three women were at the center of the formation with Gram as a focus and the plans of the tower and city in its depth; Sizalda’s Aethernet and Sindanelyn’s magical turret cannons. They were going to take their time crafting everything with the stone, steel, mithril and adamantite they already had there, Elissa decided to cheat a bit by asking for help from Hekate who must have some experience in building cities; her insight would be of great value. They started with the walls around the forest.

To Astagith who was outside the forest for this occasion it was as if claws made of ice sprouted from the earth and then hundred meter walls enclosed the entire forest whose length bordered to 160 km and of 6,000 square kilometers, it was comparable to the Black Forest in Germany. The walls shone red with an aura as the claws on the top of walls emitted a screen of energy that formed some kind of red dome that promptly became colorless.

The Dwarf huntress asked herself what was that about, Sizalda who was at her side explained what was happening, “Hmm, those ice walls have magic coursing through them, and… wow are those wards?! They are so scary, they put up a Forbiddance effect to block all extraplanar movement within the forest.” Sizalda laughed at that. “No teleport, no dimension door or plane shift here, nice.”

“Is it dat dangerous?” Astagith asked.

Sizalda looked at her friend from the corner of her eye and said, “Oh aye, if some determined people try tae keep teleporting... from what tha subwards ah am seeing being created as we speak says, when they fail and try a second time tae teleport inside they will be grabbed by tha wards and get their mana-core inverted and get tae implode.”

Astagith made a disgusted sound and looked ill, “Ok… ah shouldn’t have asked.”

“Yeah, ah guess.” Sizalda laughed at her and returned to watch as the Dragonfall forest was being fortified. “It’s getting scarier by the minute, some… some kind of weird effect is being added and it concerns dark items of power and mana traces?” The brown haired dwarf woman stuttered.

“Knowing M’Lady, she must have made it dat people who are dark magic users kinna enter without permission or something like dis.” Astagith said as she sat on a bleached rock.

Sizalda was still standing with her magic items measuring and recording what happened. “Hmm, ah think yer right but ah feel dat there’s a more sharp edge tae dis wards scheme.”

The brown haired dwarf, took out a notepad out of her considerable cleavage and began to write the runes she watched being created. Some sort of climate control wards, *Yes, somethin’ like in Nirnyahr but more advanced! Is dat tha spell codin’ method M’Lady was tellin’ me about?*

Astagith shook her head and smiled while looking at her friend who only became animated when new things needed to be discovered or made. Sizalda was more of a scientist than a crafter.

Sizalda’s glasses focused on another part of the walls and said, “Aye, M’Lady is sharp as a blade, stouter than an Earth blessed dwarf and as powerful in magic as High Queen Vanhylde.” She didn’t want to voice that she thought that maybe Elissa was even more powerful than her.

“Ye think so?”Astagith asked.

As she spoke she was now seeing that some monsters had fled the forest before the walls had grown out of the ground. Some giants, insect monsters and Night birds were kicked out.

“Aye, by tha way where’s Hilda and the twins?” Sizalda absently said as she copied even more runes from the defensive wards.

Astagith stood up and took her spear from her spatial ring, twirled it in the air and answered, “She returned to Iron Fang tae receive the King and Queen. I will be back, need tae go hunt a bit.”

The huntress disappeared in a hazy mirage like effect and became invisible. Sizalda didn’t even turn and was watching the birth of a fortress.“See ye soon.”

 

---

 

Iron Fang Settlement

 

“Where are those waves of power coming from?” Etrin asked.

Vanhylde and him had quickly teleported to the settlement in the Lesay mountains, the reports about the Light Pillar that suddenly appeared in the sky two nights ago were worrying, the shockwaves and energy felt by the populace and magic users had disturbed the peace.

Jarl Ulfric lowered his eyes, he didn’t know what to tell the king since he knew that his daughter and he had a really bad relationships. The Jarl sat in his study with a map showing the entirety of the Lesay mountains with the Forbidden Forest almost surrounding the North side of it.

The Jarl began to inform the King. “From tha Forbidden Forest, it…”

However his ruler interrupted him. “What? Is dat old spinster Siodhanth acting up again? We should finish her off, having an enemy at our back isn’t good.” Etrin’s palm slapped the armchair of the precious wooden seat he was in.

While Etrin thought about epic battle involving his army and the demise of the Dragoness, Ulfric kept his hands flat on his desk, closed his eyes and sighed furtively. Thirty second later after deciding to speak again to continue his report he looked at Etrin and spoke.

“My King…” Ulfric began after taking his courage in his hands. “Princess Brunhilda was in tha forest.”

Etrin jumped from his seat and his hand slapped on the Jarl’s desk making it shake, the King shouted, “WHAT?!” and Ulfric had to shield his face with his hands to avoid the spittle from the King’s mouth.

The Jarl had to continue as he finally got the attention of Etrin. “Yes apparently…”

But he didn’t have the chance to continue as the High-King interrupted him again. “Ah will dispatch tha army! Dat old crone won’t have me daughter! Oh, Holaf her Ma’ is goin’ tae kill me! Ah shouldn’t have let her leave like ah thought.” Etrin lamented.

Ulfric almost exploded right there and told the king to listen to him but the arrival of the High-Queen saved him from committing lèse-majesté. As usual, Vanhylde looked good with her blonde long ponytail; she was wearing a red travel gown with a tastefully decorated golden belt set with sapphire, her leather boots had runic patterns on them that surely made them magical. The king turned toward his wife who simply looked at him and just pointed at the chair saying, “Sit.”

Without arguing the King did as she ordered, the Jarl just opened his eyes wide in shock at that, Vanhylde approached the second seat, sat at her husband’s side and said, “Now explain everything.”

“Yes me Queen.” The Jarl said in haste and stood up from his seat.

“Ye see yer daughter went out of tha mountain pass two days ago, tha sentry there reported dat she and her guildies were attacked by Dark Elves in an ambush. Ah dunno how they knew they were coming from there.” Ulfric began to say, relating everything that he knew.

“Never underestimate the Dark sissies’ intelligence network.” Etrin said, glowering at what the dark elves did.

Vanhylde hit him on the back of his head and made a sign to the Jarl to continue; Etrin just lowered his eyes, deciding to stop interrupting.

“Then, ah think Lady Dragonfang and the Sisterhood,” Etrin and Vanhylde chuckled at the guild’s name and Etrin smiled too. “aye they call themselves dat; they won by killing them or making them use their contingency rings.”

Vanhylde narrowed her eyes and scratched her head. “Ah feel dat it’s just the start of yer tale, my Good Jarl.”

The Jarl of Iron Fang chuckled at that, his Queen was the smartest in the couple. He still couldn’t believe that she had this much control over the King’s behavior though.

“Oh, yes. It is.” Ulfric said, he went to his alcohol dispenser and took a glass of fire whiskey and as a good host asked, “Do either of ye want a glass of somethin’? Tha rest of tha story is kinda unbelievable, but that’s what Princess Brunhilda told me happened.”

“Bring dat Fire Whiskey!” Etrin slapped his armchair again and began to rub his calloused hands.

“Mead for me.” The Queen nodded at Ulfric.

They took five minutes to revel in the alcohol that had fire mana property and made them spit fire, Etrin loved that little after effect, while his wife appreciated the honey of her mead mug. Now that their nerves were calmed, the Jarl sat back at his desk and began to report again.

“Siodhanth trapped tha sisterhood in tha forest with a wall of flame around it, dis was witnessed by our spies in tha mountains keepin’ an eye on tha dragon.”

Etrin wanted to interrupt again but a warning gaze from his wife made him desist from such an action.

“Apparently, Lady Dragonfang was her target as she destroyed tha dragoness’ beast tide. From what Princess Brunhilda told me, Siodhanth wanted to devour the Lady to get her powers.”

“Tha legendary Dragon Absorption ability, huh.” Vanhylde muttered, she was worried, and hoped that this poor girl didn’t get killed or worse.

If she got absorbed, it could spell doom for the Dwarven Race, as that little godling had a lot of potential. Vanhylde had felt it, when she met Elissa; her entire aura shouted power, fortunately, she was a kind lass with her head screwed tight on her shoulders.

The Jarl continued, not having heard the Queen. “Lady Dragonfang confronted her and tried tae negotiate but it seems tha dragon was dead set on her course of action. They battled and dis was what caused the noises, mana disruptions and shockwaves two days ago from tha Forbidden Forest tae be felt.”

The Queen’s hand moved worriedly as she took a sip of mead and then said, “Did Elissa… ah mean Lady Dragonfang survive?”

Ulfric had noticed that crackling in her voice, she too seemed to appreciate the Lady of Aryther; she had been an exemplary guest and good for the economy of the town as she was a spendthrift.

*She had spent more money than ah would in a year! Ah!*

While thinking fondly like this of the Lady, Ulfric kept a straight face and said solemnly, “Yes me Queen, it seems she defeated the Dragoness single handedly.”

“Ye were right, ah don’t believe it!” Etrin shouted with a surprised expression on his face, he held on his beard with his hands.

“She won, dis is what Princess Brunhilda told me and tae be frank ah believe her. It seems dat tha Lady of Aryther slew tha dragoness and took her territory tae make it her own.” Ulfric argued.

Vanhylde acquiesced at that. “Dat would explain why ah feel her mana coming so strongly from the North, a lot of magic is being used at tha moment. More than ah’m used to.”

Etrin felt like he wasn’t in the know about something, Vanhylde decided to tell him about one of the things she gleaned from seeing Elissa. “Etrin, ah can believe what our daughter says, ‘cause ah know somethin’ ye don’t. Lady Dragonfang is a Demigoddess, for her to take on a Dragon or two is easy as pie.”

The High-King closed his eyes in frustration and swallowed more Fire Whiskey. “Why didn’t ye inform me of such crucial…” Vanhylde derisive gaze fell on her husband in answer to the stupid question, as Etrin was known as a jokester and would try to exploit his daughter’s friend. “Right, ah’m sorry dear. It seems our daughter gained us a big ally.” The King said, averting his eyes and looking down deep in his glass.

“Yes dis is why ah made her Dwarf Friend. Ah dinna want tae go against her.” Vanhylde said. She looked at Ulfric who just smiled. “Ye were aware of it.” The Queen noticed.

“Of course, Golden Lightning destroying a beast tide and two dragons familiars dat lands in me backyards were a dead giveaway.” Ulfric then gulped on his Whiskey.

The door opened with bang making Ulfric choke on his alcohol and here came Brunhilda that proudly entered the Jarl’s study. She wore her mithril bear armor with her warhammer behind her back and a long case in her right hand.

“Greetin’ everyone!” Brunhilda shouted and she put the case on the ground as she saw her father come to her and engulf her into a hug. She let him hug her, but didn’t return it; she didn’t forgive him about trying to marry her to Coppersnake.

“Daughter! Are ye okay?” Etrin cried.

Vanhylde approached and grabbed the King by the collar. “Gyah!” He shouted as he was ruthlessly pulled aside and the Queen hugged her daughter.

“Hilda, thanks Holaf ye are alive.” Vanhylde said as she tightly embraced her daughter; Brunhilda hugged her mother back as strongly.

“It was touch and go for a while.” The Princess said.

Vanhylde guided her daughter to her seat and then snapped her fingers to make another comfy chair appear. She heaved a relieved sigh as she now saw her daughter safe and sound near her, but her presence in Iron Fang intrigued her.

“So why have ye come here, weren’t ye busy in the Forbidden Forest?” The Queen asked the Princess.

Brunhilda shook her head. “Ma’, it’s not its name anymore. Elissa renamed it Dragonfall.”

Etrin reacted to this by laughing like a crazy hyena. “Ah! Tha lass has a good sense of humor.” Etrin laughed at the joke.

“Ah know father. Well, we killed Siodhanth, more precisely Elissa killed her and she left us to deal with the rabble, we killed a lot of monsters in dat forest.” Brunhilda leaned more in her seat and continued as she remembered this trying experience. “She’s now cozying with some Dark Elf broad from Cynlenor dat started tha process of ‘the choosing’ with her.”

Brunhilda began to tell what was happening with her guild, how they met with the dark elf that saved their lives from a little monster tide and how this same dark elf professed to be Lady Dragonfang’s intended and the drama following those events.

Vanhylde chuckled, then began to laugh throatily for a while before saying, “Holaf, dis… yer adventures are like ye are in a novel.”

Brunhilda harrumphed and straightened herself on her seat. “Tell me about it.”

“Can ye tell us about tha magic Lady Dragonfang is throwing around?” Vanhylde asked, she wanted to be sure that the young woman didn’t chew more than she was able to.

Brunhilda opened her mouth to say, “Well Elissa wants to…”

The ground and everything began to shake, Vanhylde and her daughter began to feel a disturbance in the aether. The Jarl hid under his desk, and the High Queen telekinetically gripped her husband and dragged him to her and hugged her family to herself casting a magical shield that surrounded them. The furniture shook but stayed in place as the dwarves built things into taking account for Earthquakes; but it was the case for the decorations that fell on the ground, the glasses and implement in crystal breaking and papers, books and scrolls falling from the different shelves and table.

The Earthquake continued for another full minute before stopping, Ulfric stayed another ten second under his desk, his hand on his head. When he noticed that the quake dissipated he got out and looked at the devastation that happened in his study; he looked out for the royal family and saw that Vanhylde and the other two royals were protected by a magical shield.

“Tha heck happened?” Ulfric shouted as he lamented the cleaning up he will have to do in his study to get it back to how he liked it.

Brunhilda looked up and around her. “Damn, ah didn’t think she would do it!”

The Princess knew precisely what happened, Elissa had made something. But the question was, was it a failure or a success?

“What, daughter do ye know what’s happenin’?” Etrin asked.

“Aye, let’s go outside.” Taking her father and mother by the arms and leading them prudently out of the study.

Five minutes later, they were outside the Jarl’s manor; Ulfric’s wife joined them. Brunhilda looked in the direction of the North and wasn’t surprised to find a gigantic spire of ice jutting into the sky, visible from the horizon. In a flash of light the ice spire became stone.

“Dis is what Elissa is doin’ Ma’.” Brunhilda pointed her finger at the tower.

“Lady Dragonfang certainly… has a way of doing the unexpected.”

Etrin looked animated, this was the first time that he saw something this big. “What is that thing?! A tower?”

“Nay, from what ah saw… Elissa is building an outpost city that will have magical transportation to her pocket realm in Aryther; and tha tower is her Palace slash Guild Headquarter... a spire ah’d call it, but she’s calling it a tower.” Brunhilda informed them as her senses felt another build up of mana and she braced herself.

Another flash of light showed the tower turning from stone to a silvery metal. Everyone stopped thinking when this happened, Vanhylde shook her head, King Etrin thought that a Mithril tower was too extravagant and the Jarl fainted.

“Hilda, yer friend is too flashy.” The High-Queen judged the ostentatious shower.

Brunhilda’s shoulders sagged and she kicked some gravel at her feet. “Tell me about it.”

 

---

 

Dragon Fang Tower

 

Everything was as it should be, the spire was built to specification and thanks to a living ward feeding off the nexus’ power the tower was now able to create space, making rooms available as long as it got the materials to create rooms, wiring or even something as simple as a plumbing system. Elissa was almost drained of her magic and making the tower plus the city three hundred meters deep had also required her Goddess to add some of her power in the magic working too.

Elissa knew that it would cost her, since gods never did things for free; but Hekate had told her in her mind that this was an investment on her part, that she believed that it could become something truly great.

Opening her eyes, Elissa found the cavern she was in had changed, it was no longer a stone cavern at all but she found herself in some kind of throne room with the glowing red magic circle, encrusted in what seemed to be marble, that she used for the Mythal of the Dragonfall Fortress which included the walls around the forest, the Dragon Fang Tower and the city that she named Queen’s Rise.

The unadorned walls shone silver as the light on the ceiling came on, it consisted of a gem of the size of a soccer ball giving off white light. Directly against the wall was a silver throne made of Mithril and Adamantite strangely looking like an idealized version of the Game of Swords throne. In some of the sword hilts at the top of the back of the throne precious gems were set, making it look rather symbolic. The ceiling was light-blue and at least twenty meters high, Elissa could receive dragons or giants in here, this room was gargantuan, maybe four hundred meter in diameter.

But everywhere she looked it looked empty, there was just the passed out forms of Narsenelyn and Reinatiel at the foot of her throne. Elissa decided that she would help them later after she took possession of the tower. Magic was quirky like that, even though you had created an item or place of power if you didn’t bond with them at the end of their birth they would not work for you.

Hekate had loaded a lot of information about how the tower worked into her brain mid-ritual, and that is how she instinctively reached for the nascent intelligent wards with her psychic senses and caressed them mentally, coaxing them to bond with her. To the familiar touch of Elissa’s power, the intelligence reached to her like a kitten wanting to suckle on its mother’s teat.

It made Elissa step back as she momentarily felt pain as she took ownership and the wards encompassing the entire forest, fortified city and tower bonded with her. It was a metaphysical union that linked the young woman spiritually to the land, it was a step above of the claiming of a nexus or nodes. Here, Elissa was a god as even reality could be shaped by her. However, she felt a resistance when she tried to do just that.

“Grrr, is it because I am not a Sorceress yet? Fine, it will come when it will come.” Elissa said dejectedly.

She left it at that and went to take care of her friends and handmaiden. Elissa sat Narsenelyn on the dais of the throne and placed Reinatiel at her side. Then her intuition told her to go look out of the exit of the throne room. The young woman was surprised to find herself gazing at the Lesay mountains, it was like she was in a highrise giving the view onto a city.

“But how far into the tower are we?” Elissa asked herself.

Suddenly information flowed into her mind and she discovered that her wards were feeding her information.

*Interesting, I am five hundred meters from the ground and in the middle of the Dragon Fang Tower. I didn’t know that wards could do that.* Elissa looked outside for another moment, and then decided to look at the defenses that Sizalda and Sindanelyn had helped her craft. Lightning cannon turrets were placed in the numerous crenelations at each level of the tower at 360°, there were also focus rods at the top of the spire installed in the same fashion and at the side there was some kind of contraption that she and the dwarf women didn’t place in their plan.

*Was it an addition by mother Hekate, then?* To Elissa it seemed plausible, but the wards told her that it was part of the defenses.

Elissa realized that she didn’t have anymore Mithril, Steel or Adamantite ingots as they were all used in the construction of her defenses. *Talk about expenses, well at least all this material has been used for good now and not left to rot.*

Then Elissa realized that this entire tower was akin to her possessing a giant staff; pushing a bit of her mana into the wards she took control and cast a simple lightning bolt spell at a slope of the tallest mountain in the chain.

CRAKOOOM. KABOOOM.

The top of the mountain disappeared, grey and black smoke the only sign that there has been something there; Elissa quickly cut her connection to the attack wards, stepped back and held her breath for a moment before breathing in and out again rapidly.

“Okay Elissa, don’t touch those unless it’s important, you don’t want to be at war with the dwarves, right? I sure hope there wasn’t anyone at the top.” Elissa nervously chuckled.

The noise of the tallest mountain in the Lesay chain disappearing was enough to startle the unconscious Narsenelyn and Reinatiel who were surprised to find themselves in an unfamiliar environment. Elissa entered the room and awkwardly waved at them and walked to meet them.

“Mistress, what was that detonation that I heard.” Reinatiel asked disturbed.

“M’Lady?” Narsenelyn felt still groggy as she was suffering from mana depletion.

“Hum, it’s nothing, really nothing. You can sleep or rest or something.” Elissa said quickly. She felt like she was caught doing something bad, *Well, I did something truly bad, here. But I didn’t expect the tower to amplify my spell that much!* Elissa cried in her mind.

Reinatiel narrowed her eyes but decided to let it go, but Narsenelyn didn’t and tried to get up but couldn’t even move. Elissa looked at her friend and crouched next to her and injected some of her mana into her, as they were still connected to each other as a circle.

The dark haired dwarf felt mana and power rushing into her body and suddenly she was more aware of her surroundings. “Holaf, what’s with dis bright light?” Narsenelyn whined as she shielded her eyes with her gloved hands.

“Careful Narse, you are still severely depleted.” Elissa helped her friend to sit more comfortably on the dais.

“By me ancestor’s beard where are we?” Narsenelyn looked around her, she felt that her throat was dry and she massaged it.

Elissa saw this and took a bottle of flavored water from her spatial toe ring. Her short dress showing off skin as she crouched next to the dwarf, uncorked the cap and gave her the bottle.

As Narsenelyn drank, Elissa explained where they were. “We are in Dragon Fang Tower, five hundred meters from the ground in my throne room.”

The earth bender felt around the room with her magic, “Aye, such a fancy place. Ah prefer more rustic decorations.”

When Narsenelyn said rustic, she meant a tavern with mead and loud mouthed reprobates that she could punch all night.

Elissa chuckled at the dwarf woman. “Don’t knock it, Narse you will get used to it.”

“Ah dinna think so.” Narsenelyn clicked her tongue.

Reinatiel stayed silent during the exchange but was surprised when she felt Elissa’s hand on her thigh and she pumped mana into her too. “Hope you get on your feet soon, Rei.”

“Hum yes I will soon.” Rei lowered her eyes and blushed, she was happy that Elissa still cared.

“Good.” The young woman nodded at the demoness. “Now how do we get off the tower?” Elissa asked out loud.

The ward answered by showing her in her head about the crystal that will help them teleport to the ground floor. Elissa was happy to see that Hekate had helped to make Sizalda’s Aethernet network a reality; Elissa felt that its teleportational qualities would one day become the backbone of everyday transportation throughout her realm.

Elissa helped Reinatiel to stand and transported Narsenelyn on her back, the dwarf woman held tightly onto the young woman’s neck. Reinatiel looked at Narsenelyn enviously, but the dwarf ignored her studiously. The trio descended the broad radial stairs of the stone staircases which had two handrails. It radiated outward from a single point.

Then they arrived to the floor below the one with the throne room and saw a large crystallized shard of yellow aetheric mist fused into machinery at the center of the room. The shard was a really big sphere held aloft by a pedestal that generated gravity magic and mana seemed to be fed to it by two apertures on the ceiling that funnelled the magical energy into it.

Golden Yellow glow energy coalesced around the sphere in ribbon of energy, Elissa and her friends stared, simply transfixed by the phenomenon.

*Mother Hekate went crazy with the design, huh.* Elissa said as she put Narse on her own feet.

“Do you feel like you can use a bit of magic, right now?” She asked the dwarf woman.

Narsenelyn closed her eyes and checked the mana level in her core, there was just the bit of shared mana Elissa had given to her. The dark haired dwarf shook her head, “Runnin’ on fume.”

“Hold my hand.”

“Ah looks like a bumbling cub…” Narsenelyn mumbled, eyes down and took her guildmaster’s hand in hers.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Elissa quipped, she took care of not tightening her hold on her friend’s hand too much; her strength was significantly raised to a new level after all.

Narsenelyn looked at her and then rolled her eyes, this was a really bad joke. Elissa simply snorted, she watched as Reinatiel was the first to connect to the crystal by attuning her mana to the crystal’s; to Elissa’s eyes the two began to resonate together and then Reinatiel’s body was broken down of its mass into particles, allowing it to temporarily return to the invisible aetheric streams that course throughout the atmosphere and the planet. Reinatiel’s soul, which couldn’t be broken down guided her body’s particle to a predetermined destination.

Elissa had pushed her awareness into the security wards to the ground floor of the tower and saw that upon arrival to the corresponding Aethernet receptacle, Reinatiel’s body reconfigured itself as she appeared first as a misty figure then became solid. The entire process took only a matter of moments, it was almost instant.

“That’s super cool, it works. Well it’s normal a goddess of magic helped to make it…” The platinum blonde mused.

The dwarf woman pulled on Elissa’s hand and the blonde looked at her. “Let’s go already.” Narsenelyn said impatiently.

Elissa smiled and simply held her hand before her and sent a stream of mana to attune with the crystal; it was a weird sensation to be broken down and travel in the aether stream and reform after traversing such a little distance. The platinum blonde shook her head as she was momentarily unbalanced, this feeling disappeared fast but it was still better than Nikola Tesla’s teleporters that turned her stomach.

The ground floor was different from the throne room, Elissa felt that the floor at the base of the tower was wider. The trio had appeared in the middle of a room enclosed by circular walls and the Aethernet crystal was a bigger pedestal than the previous one. Elissa could see a strong gate made of bars with points at the bottom that hangs above the entrance of the Aethernet crystal room.

*A portcullis? Good enough to block access to it… wait! There’s a ward that would deploy a magical barrier behind it when the portcullis is down.* Elissa appreciated the simple but efficient work.

Dicinna had felt a flash of mana when she entered the giant spire, it hadn’t surprised her too much as Elissa worked on it the previous days, but now, after seeing it happen from afar and causing an earthquake and whirlwinds of wild magic in the sky she was glad to be on her intended's side.

The tower was made of Mithril, and there was an abyss-like moat around it, around two hundred meters wide. You could only access it by one of the three suspended bridges. However, Dicinna didn't like how this spire's ward checked her out, just scanning her and her gears, even checking her spatial Ring's content. This was a powerful ward security scheme.

Dicinna entered a courtyard as soon as she passed the gate of the Dragon Fang Tower, it was circular and there was a building in the middle surrounded by gardens, lit by transparent gems lodged in the twenty meters high ceiling that gave off white light and there were two giant spiral staircases leading to the next floor and some kind of glass like structure that connects the ground to the ceiling. Cocking her head, the dark elf asked herself what it was; a yellow flash of magic coming from the building in the middle of the courtyard attracted her attention.

It didn't surprise Dicinna to hear Elissa’s voice, she prudently walked there and gazed at Elissa in her really fetching white halter dress. She walked up to them and saw how Reinatiel loathingly glared at her before disappearing somewhere. Elissa turned toward Dicinna and smiled at her, the dark elf felt like the sun suddenly rose and stopped walking momentarily and waved awkwardly.

“Hey.”

Elissa walked up to Dicinna and held her by the hand and brought her to the Aethernet crystal to gaze at it and explain its function. “Hey, we finished building the tower, established a way to teleport through the territory and saved the forest from withering.”

“Yes we all… felt it.” Dicinna rolled her eyes, the quakes had been severe; she wouldn’t be surprised if some damage was caused by it at the dwarf settlement.

*Let’s not talk about that lightning attack that vaporized the top of the mountain.* Dicinna mused internally, the simple Lightning Bolt spell she saw coming from the tower was magnitudes higher than what she had seen before.

“I hope no one was wounded because of it.” Dicinna heard Elissa mumble as she looked guilty about something.

“Our guildmates are all in one piece.” Dicinna answered, but they were freaking out the last time she saw the brown haired dwarf.

“That’s reassuring, the tower is even more than I realized you know.”

“Hum, Elissa?” Dicinna called out.

“Yes?” The platinum blonde interlaced her fingers in the dark elf’s.

Dicinna reddened and looked to the exit of crystal room. “Can we speak privately, I have something to tell you.”

“Is it important?” Elissa asked, flipping her hair.

Dicinna simply nodded and Elissa smiled and told Narsenelyn that she had business with their new guild member, and to wait for her. The dwarf simply waved her off and told her, “Shoo.”

Elissa nodded to Narsenelyn and fled while giggling, dragging along Dicinna; they arrived in the garden where the young woman stopped near one of the spiral staircases and cast an obfuscation sphere spell around them, whatever they were going to discuss she wouldn’t let it be heard. Dicinna held on her vambrace and her body language changed from outgoing to shy in one second.

Dicinna calmed herself down and sighed heavily. “Elissa, do you know why I came looking for you?”

From what Rilo had told her, Dicinna saved her guild members from Siodhanth’s minions and took care of her when she was free from the Ice Casket. Then Elissa filled in the blank, Dicinna shouldn’t have come here aimlessly and concluded that, “You were looking for me, I guessed at least that.” The young woman said, and she came closer to Dicinna and held on her pauldron. “But why? Did you take on the bounty the Bhelveth clan put on my head and changed your mind?”

Elissa didn’t feel that Dicinna was able to be that duplicitous by entering in her good grace and then betray her to sell her off, weirdly this feeling turned into certainty.

Dicinna chuckled at that, she would never do that. What was money to her compared to everlasting happiness? The dark elf said, “No, I’m not after your life and I don’t think I would be able to beat you, maybe by surprise or happenstance but not directly.” Dicinna said as an afterthought with honesty.

Elissa raised an eyebrow at her answer, and smiled. “Bring it on, Cinna.” she lightly punched the dark elf on her pauldron.

Dicinna gave her a dazzling smile of her own that Elissa found really stunning, if she hadn’t found Dawn she felt that she would totally ask this elf out. As for Dicinna; yes, the dark elf was thinking on how she might win their spare and take advantage of it to more thoroughly touch Elissa.

After this bit of diversion, Dicinna came back to the main discussion. “We will spare later, first I want to tell you… that we are meant for e-each other… the choosing.”

Elissa’s train of thought halted for a second, was Dicinna coming onto her? The choosing? The platinum blonde stepped back from the dark elf, raised her hands as if to say ‘stop right here’ and said, “Wow, wait there Cinna. What do you mean? I have a girlfriend you know?”

The atmosphere changed as Elissa revealed this information and Dicinna held onto Elissa and said with a cold voice, “Who?”

Her sweet voice became stilted, her eyes hard; Elissa saw that kind of expression on Dawn’s face before when she gets really jealous. *Well, they got this in common at least.*

Elissa looked at Dicinna in the eyes, choosing to be frank with the girl, “I have a girlfriend at home and… she’s waiting for me when I am done setting up on this planet. But say, what is that choosing thing you are speaking of?”

Dicinna reeled from that, she didn’t care that Elissa was spoken for. But that she didn’t know of the choosing as an elf was unexpected. “Wait, how do you not know of it? Every Elf does, this is a constant in society. We find our soulmate, the one who we will pass the rest of our life with.” Dicinna took off a glove and touched Elissa’s face directly.

The same feelings of connection, acceptance and euphoria drowned them; this link between them made an unknown emptiness that had made itself known bearable; as if it was clearly telling them that now that they were together they were not alone. Elissa struggled to take away Dicinna’s hand, it was torture to even do so. This feeling was worse than the first time they touched, as if it was slowly strengthening with time.

“What is that?” Elissa said, shaking.

Elissa put more distance between Dicinna and her, but it was difficult to do so.

“This is the choosing. We are meant to be together, our souls want to be connected together since they found each other again, the choosing is the process of them trying to link. I am surprised that you don’t know about it, in Elf society people like us are really rare and are often married quickly to avoid going through a painful choosing.”

Elissa’s eyes opened wide. “This… but Dicinna. I am not an Elf.” The young woman revealed, this shouldn’t be possible.

“Impossible!” Dicinna walked up to Elissa and touched her again, but the young woman evaded her to avoid the same spiritual connection to occur; she wasn’t certain that she would be able to stop it.

“Wait, I will use the tower’s ward, and show you.” Elissa said quickly before Dicinna attempted it again.

Elissa quickly channeled mana in the tower’s ward and cast a true sight spell, it was a spell that allowed the caster and the people they wanted to to see things in their true form or location. The lighting gems in the ceiling glowed blue and suddenly Elissa was no longer a golden skinned elf; her true form laid bare for Dicinna to see.

To Dicinna, Elissa was a young human woman with long platinum hair, pink pouty lips, a cute ideal nose and deep set emerald gem like eyes. She was tall, the same height as her, her diamond shaped face like a carving of perfection. She had long legs and arms that showed porcelain white skin. The short white alter dress revealed even more of her athletic frame. Her chest that was surely D cup and more voluptuous than in her elven form particularly attracted Dicinna's eyes until those were caught up by Elissa's curves that were softer than her toned muscles.

Elissa wasn’t an elf, but a human. *No, not a human.*

Dicinna switched to her mage sight and saw the golden aura surrounding her intended, until it completely drowned hers. They were after all in a place of power bonded to Elissa, the dark elf wasn’t worried that Elissa would get older faster than her and die. This Golden mana told her something else, that Elissa was more than human and that she had something… godly in her.

The doubts born in Dicinna’s heart were laid to rest, she wasn’t the first demigoddess she had seen in her life. There were a slew of them on Asgard where she had the unfortunate luck to meet some of the most troublesome ones.

Dicinna didn’t care what Elissa thought, if Nodicea decided that her soulmate had to be Elissa Dragonfang, a Demigoddess she would accept it.

“You can stop now.” Dicinna said, her face was now neutral.

The dark elf fondled her side braid, looking at Elissa as if she was thinking about something important. Elissa was waiting for the onslaught of feelings from Dicinna and told her, “Ah, you are finally seeing reason. It can’t be that choosing thing you were speak-”

Dicinna interrupted her by tackling her to the ground, Elissa was suddenly on her back looking at the deep blue eyes of the dark elf whose face was so near hers. Dicinna put a hand on the platinum blonde’s face and stroked her cheek, her gaze intense. “Elissa, I don’t care if you are human or a demigoddess.” She said, her voice loving.

Elissa just smiled at that, Dicinna reminded her of Dawn and how she stubbornly went after and seduced her. “And you don’t give up…”

*If those two ever meet…* Elissa thought, *they are so alike.*

Dicinna’s twinkle like laugh rang as she shook her head at Elissa’s observation. No, she would never give up. “Yeah, I am sorry if I am being a pain right now.” The dark elf simply said as a form of excuse.

“I have a girlfriend.” Elissa sighed.

Dicinna became more serious. “It doesn’t matter, the choosing is there.”

“I love Dawn,” Elissa said firmly to Dicinna who was still stroking her cheek and sniffing her. Elissa tried to get her off her but her deep down she didn’t want to. Suddenly she remembered about similar circumstances when she met her current girlfriend. “we met in similar circumstances and liked each other just as fast.” Elissa added.

Dicinna narrowed her eyes when Elissa spoke about her girlfriend, she was so jealous that this girl could have someone so beautiful, so strong, dependable and likeable. But her mind reeled at another tidbits and with excitement in her eyes she said with a husky voice, “You like me?”

“I do.” Elissa said, at least if she wasn’t already together with someone else, she would take the dark elf up on her offer. They simply clicked, just like her and Dawn.

*Here it is again, that little thought. Does it mean that Dawn and Dicinna are linked to me the same way? I sense… divine meddling.* Elissa thought as a nagging suspicion that Hekate did something… but she will ask her later in her prayer.

Dicinna fell even more for Elissa and decided on a course of action, “I will make you love me.” the dark elf smirked and she continued to stroke Elissa’s long hair.

Elissa moved her head to make Dicinna stop.“How presumptuous.” Then she mock scowled at her and said, “You just want into my panties.”

Dicinna’s cheek colored and her eyes lowered to Elissa’s chest and returned on her eyes, but the platinum blonde caught her red handed.

The dark elf answered Elissa, “Of course I do, and I will put an ornamented wedding braid in your gorgeous hair.”

Elissa didn’t like this hair color, she preferred having them vermillion red, she was used to it. Platinum blonde fit more with her real mother, Daphne. But looking at Dicinna obsessively playing with her hair, she didn’t find them that horrendous. *My entire wardrobe needs to change! I was so proud of being a redhead.* She lamented.

“Elves have ornamental jewelled wedding braids I heard?” Elissa remembered this tidbit of lore from Tsarra.

“Yes, mine for you will be gold and Sapphire.” Then Dicinna took her own white braid of hair at the left side of her head and showed it to Elissa. “Yours will be there, made of Mithril and Emerald.”

Elissa didn’t like how certain Dicinna was that she would let her do everything she had said. She couldn’t help but voice her thoughts. “You are so sure of it, you don’t doubt even for a moment that you will put that on me.”

Dicinna closed her eyes and her shoulders sagged, making her golden pauldrons crinkle the leather of her skin-suit armor. She unzipped her skin-suit showing delicious tanned cleavage that caught Elissa’s eyes.

“The only way for us to not be together would be to kill me or yourself. But if you want…” Dicinna without hesitation unsheathed one of the daggers that Elissa had offered her as part of the loot from the Dragon hoard. She took Elissa’s right hand and placed the dagger in the other.

Dicinna held the dagger to the center of her breast, the blade nicking her skin and as a red drop of blood pearled and ran down the blade, she said, “Kill me, and be rid of me and only then you’ll be free from the choosing, and I don’t want you to suffer Elissa.”

With honesty shining in her blue eyes she confessed, “I fell in love with you when I first saw you in that memory crystal at the guild, it happened when I saw you fight an army by yourself.” Dicinna’s cheek colored at she remembered how Elissa valiantly fought for her life. “Since then, the choosing as been pulling me in your direction to find you.”

Dicinna’s mood and voice shifted to a more serious tone. “If I can’t be with you, it doesn’t matter if I live as unbounded intended often go crazy if they don’t seal the deal. Please do it.”

Elissa looked at Dicinna in the eyes and then at her chest who was now abundantly bleeding as she was pushing the blade in her heart little by little. The young woman judged that Dicinna was serious about this, but she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t ruthless enough to kill Dicinna for something arranged by fate. Elissa took the blade away from Dicinna’s chest and being careful that any incident might happen and dropped the dragger far from them. It planted into the lawn, blade first.

Dicinna just smiled and Elissa rolled on the side and their position was suddenly reverted. The platinum blonde looked in the dark elf’s eyes and said. “That’s dirty.”

Dicinna liked this position, Elissa between her leg and looking at her as if she was about to devour her.

The dark elf mouth quirked into a smile. “I know.”

Elissa now realized that they were into a compromising position, her face reddened to the tip of her ears and she disentangled herself from Dicinna and went to sit at her side. The dark elf pouted and reluctantly sat near her intended.

They stayed in companionable silence for another five minutes as Elissa tried to stop fantasizing about taking the gorgeous elf up on her offer. This choosing things was messing with her mind, and she hoped to have some answers from Hekate later.

“This was the first time that I hear you string more than a sentence together since you were with us.” Elissa finally said.

Dicinna’s hand sought Elissa’s and when she found it they automatically linked. “Are you going to do it? I don’t mind being killed by you. I’m only one hundred sixty years old.” The dark elf said, her voice neutral, not at all bothered by the solution she presented the young woman.

Elissa’s hand tightened on Dicinna. “I don’t want to do that. I think it would break something in me.”

“What I hear is that you could do it, but you don’t want to.” Dicinna quipped, her braid swayed from the light breeze blowing from the entrance of the tower.

Elissa turned her head to Dicinna’s, and sincerely answered. “Yeah, I could. Before coming to this planet, I would never have thought of that. But this place changed me, having to survive and almost dying made me… harder. Cinna...”

Dicinna sat herself closer to Elissa and whispered in her ear, “I love it when you call me that.”

Elissa had to control herself to not jump the dark elf’s bones at this moment, in private this girl changed into a provocative and brazen hussy. Where was this shy, toyable with girl she had met two days ago? Elissa tried to get her hand back but couldn’t, Dicinna’s was solidly linked to hers.

“Please let me finish.” The platinum blonde asked with a stern voice.

The dark elf pouted and let go of her. “Okay, go on.” Dicinna said as she was attentively listening now.

Elissa remembered what she learned from Daphne and Dark Hekate, that her life was a complete lie, that her parents weren’t her parents and that maybe her adoptive mother didn’t have her best interests at heart. But she couldn’t think of Malicia being this evil, “There are some things about me... I’ve learned recently that made me doubt who I am, about my purpose.” Elissa’s voice broke when she began to speak, she hugged her knee to herself and continued to say, “is my family using me or am I genuinely loved?”

“What happened?” Dicinna put an arm around Elissa’s shoulders.

The young woman shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”

They barely knew each other, so Dicinna didn’t take umbrage at this and simply vowed to change this situation. For now Elissa needed her, her golden aura was dripping sadness and was darkened by it. Dicinna didn’t like that, she liked Elissa happy or normal.

“Then I will ask you something simple. Do you love your parents?” Dicinna asked.

“Yes.” Elissa answered without hesitation.

“Do you love your siblings?” Dicinna continued.

At the same time, Dicinna was fishing for information about Elissa. She was smug about them coming to her as easily. Elissa was trusting her to a certain point, Dicinna was decided to make the demigoddess love her. She had already fallen hard with just three days in her presence and drank in her presence each time she could.

Elissa answered again, without hesitation; a crazed light in her eyes that scared Dicinna. “More than anything, there is very little that I wouldn't do; I would kill for my sister.”

After gathering her bearings, Dicinna advised her intended. “Then you’ll have to ask them, demand the truth out of them. You are strong enough for it.”

The young woman simply laughed at the idea of trying to force Heracles and Malicia to tell her something.

Elissa shook her head when she noticed that Dicinna raised an eyebrow when she laughed at her advice, she quickly said to the dark elf, “I am not strong, Cinna. My mother would wipe the floor with me. Look, Siodhanth? She would have disintegrated her with a spell.”

Elissa hoped that Dicinna would understand with such an example.

The dark elf shivered, Elissa placed her arm at Dicinna’s waist and asked what was wrong. “Huh, I am marrying into a dangerous family.” Dicinna muttered.

The young woman swatted Dicinna’s arm. “We are not marrying.” Elissa said darkly.

The dark elf quickly kissed Elissa on the cheek. “Yet.”

Elissa wiped her cheek and glared at Dicinna. “You are frustrating.”

The dark elf tilted her head and smiled at her, happy that Elissa was now her normal self; her aura was not darkening anymore. Dicinna patted herself on the back for a job well done.

A plan formed in her mind, something that she was sure she could pull off. “I know,” Dicinna smirked, then she made on a sad expression and asked, “can we at least be friends to start with?”

Elissa thought deeply about that, this choosing bond spiritual thingy wouldn’t leave her alone anytime soon and would strengthen with time. Keeping an eye on Dicinna could only be self preservation and she liked the girl, she was funny and a flirt as she opened more to her. Elissa wanted to do other things with her, now that she was in her guild too. Like teaching her Inshek to see how strong she could become or get her to them tell how this adventurer business worked as she was a successful one.

“I can… accept that, friends. Yeah I like that, we are friends now?” Elissa said as she held her hand to the elf.

A mischievous glint appeared into Dicinna’s blue eyes as she said almost conversationally, “Until I get your braid with my ornament.”

She waited for her intended’s reaction and she wasn’t disappointed as she heard a draconic growling from her. “Grrr.”

Dicinna giggled, crouched and with great agility somersaulted away from Elissa and landed on the purple lawn, farther away. Dicinna waved at her, showed her tongue and fled; Elissa stood up and ran after her.

 

---

 

Day 49
27th of Felsite, Morning
Dragonfall
Dragon Fang Tower

 

Dicinna felt happy about having finally expressed her feelings to Elissa, she took the reception of her feelings as a sign that she could wear away at the woman she loved and being able to finally win her affection.

It was a day later when she had braved her shyness and asked Elissa if she would accompany her to her home to introduce her to her mother, but the answer to that question wasn’t one she expected. They were in her suite of apartments, ten entire floors dedicated to herself. Elissa was hanging all of the paintings she had looted from Siodhanth’s lair on the walls of her main bedroom, she was also setting the grimoires, magical treaties and books she had found on a stone shelf that she had enchanted to preserve them.

“Firstly, we are not in that kind of relationship, remember? Secondly, you are the only dark elf I moderately trust, the others can go get eaten by Direwolves or to Hel for all I care. I have been chased and almost killed too many times by your people.” Elissa had said.

Dicinna could understand Elissa as she was new to the duplicity, betrayal and politics of the Ssri-tel-quessir, the dark elves. They were so used to eventually giving a knife in the dark or assassinating their peers for power that showing your true self was considered a weakness and foolhardy. Dicinna herself wasn’t good at politics and had preferred to become an adventurer to escape from her people as much as she could.

The dark Elf abandoned plan A and decided to enact plan B. “I see, then I have no other choice than to accompany you everywhere.”

Elissa who was putting a book on rituals based on star and constellation alignment on her enchanted bookshelf stopped her movement, closed her eyes in frustration and after a moment, thought that that might be a good idea.

“It doesn’t bother me, it could be worse.” Elissa had said.

Dicinna liked to needle her this way and couldn’t stop taunting her. “Oh like how?”

Elissa rolled her eyes. “You could want to kidnap me.”

Dicinna snorted cutely. “It would be foolish, and if I ever did that it would be to chain you to my bed.” the dark elf had then proceeded to slap and grope Elissa’s posterior before fleeing.

Elissa had chased her throughout the tower for a good ten minutes after this flirty banter. Narsenelyn, Sizalda and Astagith the three dwarf women still present in the tower couldn’t stop from almost vomiting at those two flirting and when they saw them together often asked them to get a room or to just get married already.

But the good times had to end as a delegation of dwarves bearing the heraldic flag of the dwarven royal family were waiting at the gates of Dragonfall forest. Elissa, the sisterhood as well as Rilo and Aghri looked at them as they stood in the tundra without moving with great discipline.

In the war room at the center of Dragon Fang Tower, Elissa sat at a thick stone round table; she was in her Nightscale armor, leaning forward in her wooden chair she had stolen from Jarl Ulfric’s Mansion, her elbow on the table. She looked broodingly at the quartz screen at the center that projected the image of the Dwarves outside.

“Yer nae going tae let them enter?” Narsenelyn asked worriedly, her hands flat on the stone table. She wasn’t a big muckety muck but making people of this station wait was disrespectful.

Elissa stayed silent and then looked at Dicinna. “I destroyed a mountain, do they want to retaliate?”

Dicinna shook her head, she didn’t think that it was about that. Elissa then looked at Astagith and Sizalda who shrugged not at all concerned. The young woman’s eyes fell back on Dicinna and she smiled.

“I see, then there’s no choice but to go myself, though I don’t want to put myself at risk.” Elissa said as she closed her eyes and leaned in her comfy stolen chair.

Her awareness sank into the wards, in her mental space it looked like a control console on the bridge of a Nova Destroyer from the old Cosmic Wars movies. The bridge was raised from the main body of the destroyer simulacrum and provided a wide, panoramic view outside the tower. She stood before the communication console where the runes of the ward scheme floated in a square light window. Elissa pushed a button and suddenly a hologram of herself projected from one of the focus rods at the top of the silvery spire.

Elissa looked at herself and felt that her awareness was amplified by the power of Dragon Fang. Looking at her gloved hands, she didn’t feel anything but she still controlled the hologram’s movement.

Skronk.

She raised her eyes toward the sudden noise she heard and realized that she was now one hundred meters from the dwarven delegation. It was a dwarf in armor riding a lizard? It was a large, sleek red lizard at least eight meters long, its tail making up about half its length. It had three-toed feet, the dwarf riding the beast sat on a leather saddled.

Elissa found it cute and regretted not being there personally to poach it from the dwarf. In the dwarf’s hand was a silver flag that he held high and waved at her. Elissa’s awareness retreated from the wards but she still held the image projection spell that she improvised.

“Asta, there’s a dwarf waving some silver flag at me. What do I do?” Elissa with her eyes closed asked the huntress sitting on the other side of the table.

Astagith knowing her lore and military procedures of her people answered quickly, “Tell him tae stop and deliver his message.”

Elissa nodded and she smoothly moved her awareness to the her image self and raised a hand to the riding dwarf, solemnly she said, “Stop there messenger, deliver your message.”

The dwarf lowered his arm and put the silver flag in a compartment of his belt, sighed and said, “Thank ye, waving dis shite is tiring.”

Elissa snorted at that, this was why she liked dwarves more than dark elves, they wore their hearts on their sleeves and always said what they thought.

With grand pomp the dwarf announced, “Their Majesties are asking for an audience with tha Lady of Aryther,” Elissa had guessed that already. The dwarf looked at Elissa from head to toe. “Ah guess dat is ye, M’Lady?”

Elissa nodded her head primly. “It is I.”

The dwarf chuckled then patted his lizard’s flank. “Thanks Holaf. M’Lady, staying without moving for hours before those cold gates isn’t good for those old bones.”

Elissa frowned, the dwarf had dark hair and beard and looked stupidly muscular and young. “You aren’t that old, dear messenger. You look like a spry dwarf to me.” the young woman said honestly.

The dwarf reddened and averted his eyes. “Flattery, M’Lady? It will get ye everywhere.”

Elissa chuckled and waved him away, the dwarf turned his steed before he took a golden flag from his belt and waved it at the army. The ranks of the assembled guard separate in two like the red Sea and finally Elissa could see her favorite royals. Vanhylde walked elegantly as always in her red dress, a handmaiden in a pink travel robe protecting her from the sun with a parasol in her hands. King Etrin and Brunhilda didn’t seem to mind the sun and seemed really down about something.

The High Queen and Elissa were finally face to face now, the frozen soil and treeless plain not bothering her at all.

“Good Morn, Friend Elissa we are happy seeing dat ye are well.” Vanhylde curtsied to her fellow ruler, while Elissa did the same even though she was in armor.

Elissa wanted to hug Vanhylde but she couldn’t, she realized that this was a formal meeting and this magic projection she used couldn’t interact with the material world. “High Queen Vanhylde, I am also happy to see you. When we left the last time I wished to learn more about your beautiful city, alas…” Elissa looked darkly at King Etrin who just arrived at his spouse’s side. “The situation didn’t permit it.”

For just a moment a draconic aura was felt covering the entire forest and Etrin almost stumbled, it disappeared as quickly as it came, however Vanhylde didn’t miss it and was perplexed by it. However it wasn’t important, for now Elissa didn’t have a good impression of her husband and this was a point against him. Vanhylde couldn’t let her husband try to negotiate with someone as powerful as Elissa, he was a good husband but a terrible politician.

“Ah know what ye mean, my dear.” Vanhylde gave a conciliatory smile.

Brunhilda arrived last, she looked really sad, and she waved at Elissa before lowering her eyes and stay silent behind her parents. To Elissa she looked as if she was sulking.

The platinum blonde’s eyes focused on the High Queen. “Hilda didn’t come back as fast as I thought.” Elissa said as she smiled at her friend’s expression.

Cough. Vanhylde feigned clearing her throat. She didn’t want to let Elissa realize how much they had tried to press their daughter for information about the fight with the dragoness to learn about her true abilities. The most they got out of the dwarven princess was that Elissa could fight equally with Siodhanth in her humanoid form.

“We had tae interrogate her about what happened in Dragonfall, is it?” Vanhylde looked at the giant walls behind Elissa’s image projection, the spine like claws that turned inwardly on the walls and the really tall silvery spire gave an ethereal picture to the place now.

Elissa chuckled and turned and widely opened her arms and finally said, “Yes, this is now my territory. Siodhanth so foolishly thought she could take me on.” Elissa then turned back to Vanhylde and added with certainty in her eyes, “Even if she had killed me, my Matriarch would have come to avenge me and her victory would have been a Pyrrhic one.”

A cold breeze passed by, making the High Queen feel the cold of the tundra insinuate in her being.

“Oh, Ah have forgotten how ruthless ye had made yer... Matriarch sound.” Vanhylde had almost forgotten that Elissa seemed to be backed by someone powerful, a sorceress from what she had told her. Someone who could take on Siodhanth and easily win.

Elissa smiled, she knew at least that Malicia would avenge her and use Siodhanth and a bunch of dark elves as sacrifice to resurrect her in a dark ritual. She knew that Malicia wasn’t kidding when she Sparta’d her onto Svartalfheim.

The young woman decided to cut to the meat of the matter at hand and bluntly asked, “So, your Majesty, I am happy to see you, but can I know why you’ve come to this Hekate damned place?”

Vanhylde showed a very contrite expression on her face, she really didn’t want to do this to Elissa but she had created such a powerful weapon in the span of a day and blew up a mountain.

A neutral expression appeared on Vanhylde’s face as she demanded, “We want tae know about yer intentions toward the Kingdom and ask reparation for tha mountain ye flattened.”

“Oh, that trifling mountain?” Elissa waved it away as if it didn’t matter to her. “I was just testing the amplification power of the tower and it was more than I expected.” Elissa said, channeling Malicia and passing smoothly in negotiation mode.

“Look here…” Etrin tried to interrupt and tell this little girl off, but Vanhylde just looked at him from the corner of her eye and he stayed silent.

Elissa tilted her head at that and made a proposition. “Maybe we should proceed to discuss this point of contention between us in a more relaxed setting?”

Vanhylde looked around her and didn’t have any way to refuse as she didn’t want to stay under the sun and the cloudy sky. She was feeling cold too, so she readily accepted, “We will be under your care, Lady Elissa.”

Elissa smiled at the Queen and said, “Welcome to Dragonfall, you are now my guests. Oh, and please avoid using any spying implements and do not use any dark artifacts, dark magic users will be barred from entering the forest. That is all.”

The young woman’s image disappeared and Vanhylde looked toward the gates, they were fifty meters tall and thirty meters wide. They opened silently, no grinding sounds could be heard. To the royal family and their detachment of royal guards it was eerie and unnatural; dwarves were used to mechanical constructs, and they knew that this marked this area as unnatural.

Pulling her awareness back to the war room, Elissa sighed wearily and leaned into her seat. The dwarven women and Dicinna waited to hear the news that their guildmaster surely had for them. The young woman opened her eyes and simply said, “Let’s go to the throne room, and I will fill you in as we move.” Elissa stood up, conjuring her sword belt around her hips and she took Gram from her dimensional sheath and placed her in the drake leather sheath she had fashioned with magic and alchemy.

Afterwards she called Gungnir into her hand, she checked it quickly; the blade, the sharp wings attached to the blade and the blue crystal at its base. No sign of damage from the battle, so she was relieved. Her hand tightened on the shaft and she walked toward the exit of the war room, which was the most secure room that could be found in the center of the tower. There was an Aethernet crystal outside the door nestled in an alcove protected by a portcullis that waited for them.

Elissa began to relate what happened and everyone was worried, their guildmaster had done goofed and the High Queen was a tough and ruthless dwarf woman at court. They expected that something of a price would have to be paid for damaging the land. Dicinna wasn't worried, Elissa was in her place of power she didn't think that the dwarf royal could ask anything from her intended.

They used the crystal to teleport to the middle floor, the throne room. And they appeared in the lobby of the aethernet crystal room the portcullis raised itself and Elissa asked almost absently to Astagith and Sizalda, “Could you please lead them here?”

“Sure.”

“Aye, guildmaster.”

The two used the crystal again and teleported to the Aethernet crystal in the transportation building near Dragonfall’s main gates. Dicinna followed Elissa in silence, asking herself how the demigoddess would handle the trouble with the dwarves. The proper thing would be to pay reparations to the bereaved party and let it go at that.

*That's what mother would do.* Dicinna told herself.

The Matriarch of the noble Zerloth clan hoped to give her position to Dicinna as she showed the uncanny ability to come out on top in most situations and was a good adventurer who travelled the different realms of the Yggdrasil network; it was also a fact that as the second born Dicinna was the most proficient with their bloodline ability called world walking, the art of creating and manipulate portals.

After leaving the observation deck showing the view outside, they entered the throne room. Where Elissa directly went to sit on her throne with her spear in her hand, waiting for the Queen and her family to arrive. Dicinna placed herself at her right side and Reinatiel who left her familiar dimension appeared at her left.

Elissa just nodded at her and turned her head to Dicinna with whom she began to speak. This cold war was wearing away at the demoness who felt torn by her loyalties. Rilo and Aghri appeared as Elissa had summoned them from their scouting mission in the forest. Through the link they reported to their mistress that they had found a colony of Dryads in the forest.

The young woman was suddenly more animated by this discovery. “We will see them later.” She told her two familiars who were rewarded with pats and scratching their necks.

Taking cushions from her spatial ring and placing them to the left of her throne Elissa placed her two pseudodragons on them and they began to test how comfortable they were by stepping on them. Rilo was satisfied as the cushion was mildly soft and laid on it. Aghri looked at his mate and was excited to see her at ease and sat near her, covering her with a wing. Rilo entwined her tail with his affectionately.

Seeing this melted Elissa’s heart, she couldn’t wait for the moment when she would be able to return to her room and play with them. The young woman looked at the naked room, there were no tapestries, no frescoes or art pieces. She hoped that she would be able to furnish this place and make it grand enough.

As she looked at the Mithril wall an idea came to her, she could modify the interior of the tower at will and maybe she could create frescoes on the walls to liven up the throne room? Elissa’s awareness dived into the wards and let the intelligence in on her thoughts.

It looked at her memories about the posters from fantasy movies she had watched on Earth and suddenly on the entrance’s wall a fresco of three hobbits, an elf, a dwarf and some humans walking toward Isengard appeared. Then Elissa went crazy with more scenes from movies with dragons, pirates dueling on a ship’s deck and elves battling at the battle of Helm’s deep. It was as if a myriad of movie scenes had exploded onto the walls of the throne room.

“You are having a lot of fun.”

“The walls look less bare and more stylish. Congratulations, Mistress.” Reinatiel said. She liked the throne room better now as it looked more alive.

*Now if we could put more blue and white tapestries it would be better.* She thought to herself, as this place needed more color.

“But it lacks a little something.” Elissa said to Reinatiel.

“A red carpet.” Dicinna Nonchalantly said.

“You, Cinna, you are right. But not red I don’t like red on my carpets; maybe-”

Elissa felt when a great number of dwarves approached the tower, she had pulled back the bridge so no person or beast could cross it and enter the tower. As they approached the moat, the suspended bridge reconstructed itself piece by piece and connected the entrance of Dragon Fang Tower to the forest floor. Elissa had willed it so, this was part of one of the security measures against invaders she had put in place with Syndanelyn.

The first to cross the bridge were the Dwarf women that were a part of the sisterhood, followed by the royal family and the guard detachment. Elissa left the bridge in place, only closing the Steel Mithril alloyed gate. Through the ward Elissa felt the royal family arrive in the lobby.

“Game face on girls, the royals are here.” Elissa warned Dicinna and Rei.

Vanhylde, Etrin and Brunhilda entered the throne room followed by two guards in golden armor and the same dwarf lady in pink robe from earlier.

“Lady Dragonfang, thank ye for inviting us-” Vanhylde stopped here as she felt the girl’s aura, it was different from before; thicker and more powerful.

*Barely four days passed and tha girl progressed dis much?* There was no way that a normal individual would undergo such rapid growth! The girl was now as powerful as herself.

“High Queen Vanhylde this is nothing, you have clothed us and shared your food with us; and accepted to help my people. We have fostered a good relationship so far, I would hate to lose it.” Elissa began.

The High Queen was impressed with how eloquent this young woman was and suddenly kept the conversation on track to the main point of division between them. “Yes, we take our alliances seriously; this is why we are still concerned with this outpost practically on the door of our territory and it is… brimming with weapons and power. Could you explain why you made it so?”

Vanhylde noticed that there was a new face at Elissa’s side, a dark elf female in armor, with white hair and blue eyes. From Brunhilda’s information it was the elf from Cynlenor who was Elissa’s soulmate. She looked vaguely familiar to the Queen. However, Elissa disturbed her train of thought.

Elissa loudly struck the dais between her feet with the metal cap at the butt end of her spear. “I have no desire to conquer the Dwarves, I like your people. My guildmates and one of my best friends are from Nirnyahr.” Elissa said as she looked at Brunhilda behind Vanhylde.

The Princess smiled at that and wordlessly said ‘I love ye too’ which made Elissa giggle; Vanhylde looked behind her and Brunhilda quickly put on a mask of neutrality. High Queen Vanhylde slightly smiled at that. “We-”

“Girl, dis is simple we want reparations for tha land ye damaged and yer oath dat ye will not turn dat weapon against us.” Etrin interrupted Vanhylde.

The High Queen turned to him and gave him a bloody glare. Elissa, the guard and even the Queen’s Handmaiden looked at him as if he was an idiot for interrupting his wife as she negotiated this peacefully. Elissa stood up suddenly, struck the ground with the butt of her spear again and it stayed in place there at the side of her throne. The young woman’s aura was visible now as she looked irritated and descended the stairs of the throne’s dais.

Dicinna wanted to see blood and smirked savagely at the situation, this idiot king… will he get what he deserves? Reinatiel was tempted to throw black fire at this moron, but stayed primly at Elissa’s side, just crossing her arms under her chest, her mage robes billowing as Elissa aura produced wind.

Her power like a storm, free and violent, the dwarves felt as if they were swept by the wind of a hurricane. The crackling of lightning around Elissa didn’t bode well; Vanhylde’s body coiled on itself, ready to defend her husband even though he should have stayed quiet. She couldn’t understand why he… oh no, she understood why, Elissa was a girl to him; a child that should know her place.

The Queen shook her head, her husband was the poster child of the patriarchal way of thinking of a lot of dwarves in their kingdom. Vanhylde herself had been a victim of it, just like her daughter who fortunately decided to pave her own way.

Elissa stopped before Etrin who found himself before the eye of the storm. Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure about what he just said, but as a king he didn’t squirm or look away. The young woman stared him down and raised her hand, the two guards had their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to unsheath them. Elissa created a rectangular block ice with her cryokinetic power and enlarged it so that it became five meters high and nine meters wide.

Ignoring Etrin she passed by him, walking up to the block of ice and taking her glove off to touch it. Focusing on the atomic bonds to alter and reconfigure them; Elissa willed the ice to turn to stone. Under the eyes of everyone present the block of ice gradually turned into a grey block of hard earthen substance. From her spatial toe ring Elissa materialized her Philosopher's stone in her free hand and connected to it. Elissa turned to Etrin who looked at her confused, she sneered at him and let the alchemical treasure touch the stone block that began to undergo another change and instantly became silver in a flash of white light.

“Will this suffice for your reparations?” Elissa asked haughtily.

Etrin didn’t answer, just kept his eyes straight at the stone turned mithril block; the emotions within his head overwhelmed him making the dwarf faint on the spot. There was silence for thirty seconds as everyone was in shock; the first dwarf to break the spell was Brunhilda as she pointed a finger at her father’s unconscious form and began to laugh struck by the hilarity of the situation. The poor princess held onto her stomach and fell onto her knees as she laughed like a crazy dwarf at the ridiculous king.

All the respect she had for his position was suddenly gone, Vanhylde herself wanted to laugh but she couldn’t permit herself to. The guards went to collect their king, and Elissa shook her head, reigning in her magical aura. “Take him outside, I am sorry that I do not have anything for him to rest on.”

“Me husband is a clown.” Vanhylde mumbled, Elissa heard her and pitied the Queen.

Brunhilda passed out from laughing too much, so Dicinna collected her and placed her on one of the free cushions next to the Pseudodragons. When the loudmouths were thus taken care of, the atmosphere subsided.

Elissa looked at Vanhylde and said, “Now that this is out of the way, can I invite you to get refreshments in my private quarters?”

“Please, we did enough politicking for a while.” Vanhylde was already fed up with the situation.

While travelling from the throne room to Elissa’s lounge on her private floors, the conversation segued into apologies. Elissa didn’t take it too badly but she had something to say about the King’s behavior. Elissa had made stone furniture in her room, they were currently sitting on a white stone sofa that had the same texture as marble, it was covered in multicolored cushions. The ward’s intelligence had somehow covered the once bare walls of this floor with the same pictures as the throne room, as it understood that those were Elissa’s preference.

The low table before the stone sofa was covered in plates containing pastries and a carafe of black tea that Elissa had procured from her own stock. Queen Vanhylde sniffed the fumes of the warm cup of tea in her hand and nodded in appreciation.

“You must do something about him, Vanhylde.” Elissa began to say conversationally.

She couldn’t understand how someone has great as Vanhylde had to put up with such a husband.

“Ah already did, ah limited his power at court and about decision that should be me purview.” Vanhylde began to explain how the last time Elissa was there Brunhilda and her had planned to do just that by shaming and killing the dwarf Etrin wanted to marry his daughter to, and show the court that the man shouldn't try to interfere with Vanhylde’s sphere of influence.

The marriage of the princesses and the heir concerned only Vanhylde, because Etrin had only married into the royal family. He was a simple soldier before meeting her.

Elissa vigorously shook her head and placed her teacup on the low table. “That is not enough, he is… unable to see past his own glory it seems. If glory there is. Is he more than the jokester and military man?”

How low the queen felt she had fallen when a human girl had to advise her about her own marriage. Vanhylde looked at the view of the forest that the transparent metal window of the lounge gave her.

“He can be, when with family…” Vanhylde weakly defended her husband.

The warmth of the warm cup seeped in the Dwarf Queen's hand as she looked down at the leafy brew. As for Elissa, her heart went out to the dwarf woman. “I don’t envy you, my father would have never interrupted my mother like that. He respects her too much, but I think the problem is with how your society sees their women.”

Vanhylde’s eyes narrowed, then she took a brief sip of tea. “Dis has been tried before.” she said as she remembered how her own father strived to take some rights away from dwarf women who were not married. They couldn't own their own smithy or inherit it, he put stringent rules on how a dwarf woman should act in the military making it utterly unattractive.

A wicked smile appeared on the platinum blonde's face. “Then I will help you, this cannot go on. I am not a feminist, but if a dwarf girl wants to become an adventurer or a soldier she should be free to do so.”

Vanhylde had no idea what a feminist was but she was intrigued by Elissa’s speech. “What do ye propose?”

Elissa slid close to Vanhylde, smiled and said, “This is simple really, lead by example; I will make the Sisterhood the symbol of change. Independent women of all races assembled into a guild to better the world around them.”

“Ah feel that it isn’t…” Vanhylde thought that it was too idealistic of Elissa to think like that, but when the young woman continued and everything became clearer, the Queen understood Elissa’s intention.

“Then you give all the women who want the freedom to work in any profession the option to work here in Dragonfall or in Aryther, they will have plenty of opportunities. I have a city under this tower and I am in great need of workers anyway.” Elissa finished giving a conspiratorial smile to the High Queen who looked surprised at first, then a gleaming light appeared in her eyes as she thought of how this could change everything.

“Ye are a devious and evil little lass.” Vanhylde said when she realized how Elissa mixed her own agenda and the solution to their problem. Vanhylde adopted an equally evil smile and strongly patted the young woman on the back of her armor.

“Please stop, you flatter me too much.” Elissa reddened at the praise.

The High Queen’s mood lifted. “Aye, Elissa. We will try it yer way.”

She had a solution, and in time dwarven society might change, kicking and screaming if she had her way. Elissa was an outsider and offered a fresh eye on the problem that the Dwarven women had. They needed somewhere where they could be independent and not subject to their society’s pressure to flower and develop. Elissa will put into law in Queen’s Rise that beings of all races can own or inherit business or ancestral house and other minor things regardless of gender.

Elissa giggled. “I mean this problem’s solution is quite simple to me, Vanhylde. We will just make the men realize what they lost, if all the eligible girls come to work here and have more Power to decide for themselves…”

The young woman was already thinking about all the dividends this personal project of hers would produce, she had a plan for the dwarves, and… for Thafnoris. Vanhylde interrupted her internal musings as she slapped her thigh and said, “Ah like it, aye.”

Now that this was out of the way, Vanhylde looked at the bare decor, there was nothing to give life to the young woman’s tower’s interior and the Queen found it depressing. “Now girl… ah see dat yer place is quite bare… do ye need any help?”

Elissa latched on to this life buoy, held Vanhylde’s hand and imploringly said, “Hekate, yes! I need furniture! Food! Alcohol! Decorations! Everything to live comfortably. I can’t handle living this way without fluff!”

The High Queen smelled blood and a shark-like smile grew on her face. “Maybe we can negotiate then…”

 

---

 

Day 51
29th of Felsite, Late afternoon
Pocket Realm of Aryther

 

The return trip to Aryther was delayed by the construction of the teleportation circle that had to be outside of the anti-teleportation ward’s influence. Elissa had to draw the circle in a reinforced location tough enough to become a teleport station. She mimicked the dwarves and built the station in a cave high up in the face of a cavern wall overlooking Queen’s Rise. The simulated sky on the cavern’s ceiling showed the brightest stars and under it the city of Queen’s Rise. The wide water of the newly christened Silver River glistened separating the Business and Industrial districts.

For now only the most essential buildings were built, the Adventurers’ guild building, the Library, the Temple of Hekate, the Granary and in the industrial district, the Mana Forge as well as what she called the Forge of Stars which worked on a similar model, but was much, much bigger. She couldn’t wait to see the face of the Forgemaster clan if there were still any of them on this planet.

The city was ready to receive workers who would build their own homes and Vanhylde had decided to send her people to help write the laws for this place. Before leaving for Aryther, Elissa had to forge control rings for the wards in Dragonfall and Aryther and distribute them to the members of the Sisterhood.

Elissa couldn’t stop quoting in a really short ceremony a special quote that she modified at her leisure as she crafted them with her magic, “One Ring to lead them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in friendship bind them.” And with the power of Dragon Fang Tower, the Master Ring and its subordinate’s were thus born. It was able to locate the other bearers, teleport them to the master and made betrayal costly. The other rings had different levels of permissions for the control of the tower. By order of importance there was the Master Ring, The Regent, Generals and Soldiers.

Elissa didn’t pull a Sauron, since there was no way she was going to put part of her soul into an item, that was asking for fate to have it stolen. But once linked to the bearer’s aura and magic, they couldn’t be removed by normal means. The rings ceased all function when separated from their host and became inert.

With this the members of the sisterhood were ready to enter Aryther.

After taking the teleportation circle, Elissa smelled the familiar air and relaxed herself. “I am finally home.”

The freshwater smell and the purple grass, the hardworking fluffy inhabitants. She loved it all! The rest of the Sisterhood ported behind her, and looked around them. There were new houses built and some of the Lutrinians were patrolling the walls.

A female Lutrinian stopped moving, put her basket full of dirty clothes on the ground and said, "Chief?"

Elissa smiled at her and waved.

The little female otter then screamed, “HEKATE, EVERYONE IT'S THE CHIEF!!”

“CHIEF!!”

Dicinna didn't know how to react when they were suddenly surrounded by hundreds of otter people. She almost unsheathed her daggers when they were mobbed, but decided not to do this at the last moment when Elissa hugged three of the otter-like bipeds. The little creatures ignored the Sisterhood completely and were intent on being hugged individually by Elissa.

Brunhilda now understood that Elissa had a problem with taking in stray and cute things. If they were cute, it was enough for her; Lutrinians were considered pests by other races on Svartalfheim as they often brought more problems than solutions, no one understood their language and because of this language barrier, the other kingdoms often killed them outright. However, Elissa had hundreds of them and from what she was seeing taught them things, and what was really ludicrous?

Brunhilda understood them.

“What sorcery is dis? Lutrinian speakin’ common dwarvish?!” Exclaimed the princess.

Weren’t they supposed to be uncivilized, and no good little beast? How did Elissa do that? This was breaking Brunhilda’s mind more than seeing Elissa fight a dragon. As for Dicinna she wasn’t surprised at all, some Lutrinian on Asgard had civilizations but there was this problem of language as well.

Dicinna turned to Brunhilda and said confidently, “No, it’s Elvish.”

“Ah assure ye, she-elf this is dwarvish.” Brunhilda insisted, she asked the others to back them up.

“They speak the dwarvish language, aye.” Narsenelyn nodded.

Rilo and Aghri were bodily carried by a group of Lutrinian females who brought some kind of covered palanquin they were loaded on. The Sisterhood noticed that the two pseudodragons climbed in it with practiced ease and laid on the cushioned Direwolf fur inside. As Brunhilda looked at them, Rilo raised her head and gave her a superior draconic smirk before ignoring them.

“Did dat little black lizard snob us?” Brunhilda asked frowning.

Astagith found it hilarious and giggled as she said, “Aye she did.”

After cuddling with all her people, Elissa went to the center of the walled village. And took out her Yurt and nodded, “Yes, finally home.”

“This is colorful, Elissa.” Dicinna said as she slid Elissa’s hand into hers.

The young woman delicately linked her fingers with Dicinna’s. It was an almost unconscious thing to always have her elf with her as close- *No, Elissa. Dicinna is not yours.*

Dicinna sure acted as if she was though, as she entered the Yurt and put her pack on the floor. And was in the process of taking her armor off.

Elissa didn't say anything to her; looking on as the dark elf made herself at home while she tauntingly took off her armor by herself. Elissa sighed and walked up to the dark elf and began to help her by unclasping the pauldron pieces from her skin-tight armor.

As she busied her hand, Elissa said, “This is my home here. Until I get a palace built in the same place but we will do that later when the Earth Benders arrive from Nirnyahr and the High Queen delivers all the things she has promised me. I am almost out of my share of the gold from Siodhanth’s lair. Hilda’s mom almost cleared me out.”

Dicinna turned and smirked as she raised her chin, and thrust her chest at the young woman wordlessly telling her to continue. Slowly, the platinum blonde undid the webbing under Dicinna’s chest armor. The sexual tension was intense but Elissa calmed herself down, not letting the elf get a rise out of her. Once done she Took Dicinna’s left arm and slowly removed her Vambrace. She repeated the same operation with her right arm and stopped there.

“Now you can get the rest yourself.” Elissa said her voice slightly hoarse as she fought the weird connection between the two of them.

Dicinna was startled by the show of willpower Elissa was capable off. “Don’t you want to continue? To see where it could lead?” The elf said sultrily.

Any other man or woman from any of the races she was acquainted with would have already crumbled and ravished her.

Elissa was amused Dicinna’s the naive seduction. Dawn had tried that already to make them break the promise made to Malicia. Dicinna was substantially older than her but could only use high school level ploys to seduce her? What a weird dichotomy.

Elissa answered, placing a finger under the Dicinna’s chin, stroking it. “It would mean you would win.”

The dark elf was basking in the feeling of being touched by someone she loved and found worthy of her. It made Dicinna want her more.

“I always win, Dragonfang.” The dark elf said with sudden wildness in her eyes.

The draconic part of Elissa responded instantly to the challenge, “So do I.”

They looked at each other like two predators circling one another looking for weaknesses to take advantage of. Neither of them willing to avert their eyes first, this could have continued for a longtime if Elissa didn’t give them an out, “You can sleep here, I will get you an inflatable mattress.”

Elissa left after that, to listen to the Matriarch’s report in the mead hall.

Dicinna watched Elissa’s beautiful backside retreat, then she sighed; the woman she wanted was a tough nut to crack. But she wasn’t deterred by the chase, all of this was exhilarating, to have found someone so similar to, and different from herself. Dicinna had more adventures with Elissa than in the last decade and hoped that it would never stop, she had been getting bored as of late.

The homey feel of the Yurt made her release her guard, she felt safe here. As she took off the rest of her armor, Dicinna thought, *At least I have a foot in her home. Today the separate mattresses, tomorrow the same bed. I always win, Elissa.* The dark elf couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

As for Elissa she was listening to what happened in her absence, the Lutrinians had found more schools of fish off the coast of the Emerald island, others had become able to channel mana like she had shown them in their lessons and they had found a giant bee hive on the other river bank ten kilometers from the walled village.

Elissa found this interesting, they had a ready source of mead, and sugar. She knew how to make it from the Teslapedia pages she had downloaded on her smartphone, but she doubted she could make it as good as the ones the dwarves made. Another thing she will have to let Sizalda or the others do for her.

The Lutrinian Matriarch continued her report and it went on well into the night, Elissa was made aware that there was no more alcohol in the mead hall, not even wine. This was a critical situation as the workers amongst them had become dependent on it after a good day of work. Elissa gave them enough barrels of mead that the Matriarch’s mood lifted.

Elissa left the mead hall weary from all those reports and walked to her Yurt, physically she felt fine but the mental fatigue was strainful. The platinum blonde still preferred punching things until they died.

*What did I think would happen when I become a ruler?* She thought.

There was light in her little abode and Elissa knew who was making herself at home and wasn’t surprised to see the Sisterhood on the porch. Brunhilda had found the time to erect a royal tent on the left side of her Yurt, where the dwarf women were playing cards at her garden table while betting money. It put a smile on Elissa’s face as she walked up to them and sat on an ice stool she constructed. She took a cask of wine and put it directly in the center of the table.

The Barrel-shaped container had a metallic panel that was engraved with a leaf and grape drawing; the dwarf women all reacted to it.

“Dis is wine from tha Brewfinger clan! How did ya get it?!” Sizalda looked agape at the cask of wine.

Brunhilda narrowed her eyes at it and said, “Even tha royal family kinna get it, it’s expensive as hell!”

Elissa had won it from a noble looking dwarf in a tavern when she was in Iron Fang, she had played him by looking green when she was actually able to count the cards. It had been really easy. But she was banned from entering the tavern when a fight broke out because of her and she single handedly finished the tussle.

“I have my ways, girls. Now, I want to enter this game and I pledge this cask.” Was all she said.

Brunhilda wasn’t blinded by greed like Sizalda and Sindanelyn, she knew that Elissa liked to play innocent to fool others and brutally take away their winnings. She was a fox, a demon when negotiation or games were concerned.

“Ah smell a mole! She’s tryin’ to trap us!” Brunhilda warned her friends about the great Sea Dragon lurking under the surface.

Sindanelyn looked at the princess and whined with an imploring expression. “But Hilda, dis is Brewfinger wine!”

“Tha Guildmaster is a shark, look at her! She act like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth!” Brunhilda lifted her hand and pointed a finger at Elissa who feigned looking hurt by what her friend was saying.

She shouldn’t have let her come with her when she went tavern hopping in Iron Fang, Brunhilda was wise to her schemes now. Elissa just wanted to have fun and prank her guild members; she didn’t intend to keep the winnings for long.

Sizalda listened to Brunhilda and backed off, but Sindanelyn didn’t and said, “Ah say ah will take this wine from her!”

Brunhilda looked at her friend with pity and shouted, “Ye fool! She will fleece ye!” The dwarf princess left and entered her tent in a huff. Sizalda remained to watch the twins play against Elissa.

Elissa chuckled evilly. And cut the deck, it was weird that poker had spread to the dwarves. But she shouldn’t be surprised as all the realms were interconnected.

In the first game they played Elissa lost deliberately, then she took a second cask and greedy little Sindanelyn fell into her trap and began to lose in earnest. Elissa found herself one hundred silver coins richer when she went home to sleep. She wasn’t surprised to see that Dicinna was on her bed reading a book, Rilo and Aghri were on their cushions; their bellies distended fully from being fed too much fish.

Taking off her armor she placed it next to Dicinna’s and went to take a shower, ignoring Dicinna’s predatory gaze as she took in the sight of Elissa’s body. Elissa’s hand roved from her breast to her belly button and she looked tauntingly at the dark elf who almost rose from the bed. Entering the bathroom, Elissa took a long and thorough cold shower. But it didn’t do anything for her mental state, this was business as usual for her.

*Am I leading this poor girl on? I shouldn’t, Dawn… Dawn would leave me if I did that to her. I need answers, why is this happening to me with Dicinna?* Elissa turned the shower off delicately not wanting to break the spigot.

With wind magic she dried herself and continued to take care of brushing her teeth, putting off the moment she had to return to the main room and see Dicinna. Three minutes later she was still inside the bathroom and putting on her pajamas, matching bra and panties with a Paragon movie t-shirt that her adoptive father, Heracles gave her.

She had nothing else to do, and decided to enter another battle of wills with her dark elf. Squaring her shoulders, Elissa opened the bathroom’s door.

The dark elf was waiting for her and closed her book as she stared at her from head to toe and nodded approvingly. “Finally, I just finished this book and I was waiting for this ‘inflatable mattress’ thing you spoke about, or does this mean you want the two of us to share a bed?” This was said challengingly.

Dicinna rose from the bed and came face to face with Elissa.

The blonde shook her head quickly. “We are not sharing anything, Cinna.” She said a tad hesitantly.

Elissa’s nipples peaking through her t-shirt told Dicinna another story. “We could.”

Ignoring this delicious proposition, Elissa took the camping gear from her spatial toe ring and placed it on the floor using wind magic to quickly inflate the mattress. She added clean sheets for the dark elf, didn’t bother to answer her and just settled into bed, “Good night, Cinna. I will punt you into orbit if you attack me in my bed.”

“I wouldn’t.” *Yet.* Dicinna smiled and began to make her temporary bed, she fully intended to join the little platinum blonde and cuddle one day. *But not today it seems.*

Dicinna’s smell was on the sheets and lulled Elissa into sleep after imagining messing up the white haired beauty. She then thought of Dawn and doing the same to her, in fact she wanted both of them in her bed and to possess them. Elissa didn’t know where those instincts came from and it scared her a bit.

Elissa found herself in the Dreamscape, she was still in the sky on the fluffy cloud that Hekate had transported her to the last time. She sat on the spot near the cloud throne, not daring to sit on the more appropriate seat. The young woman began to think now that she had time for herself, she was in the dreamscape and now knew how to navigate it thanks to Hekate’s gift of Damian’s knowledge, skills and experience.

This spiritual realm was all about force of will, feelings, needs and wants. Elissa smiled and stood up from her spot on the cloud and ran. She fell from her favorite cloud and flew or it was more generous to say she hovered.

At her back she saw blue and white wings of light and crystal. “How weird, but they are pretty at least.” she gave a forceful beat of her wings and she was already flying to the giant tree whose summit she tried to reach but the more she tried, the more she was forced back by violent winds and had to land and at the big tree’s roots.

Elissa looked sulkily at the summit and thought, *There’s something hidden there. But it seems this realm has its own secrets and wants to keep them.*

The young woman shrugged and focused on her wings, they were part of her somehow. Elissa thought really hard about conjuring a double of herself or more precisely she divided her focus and suddenly the realm complied to access her need. Another Elissa appeared, this one the representation of how she felt she should look like.

This Elissa was shorter with red hair and looked less curvy than the current one, she wore the same pajamas as her. That shocked her to her core? Was she that different now? The platinum blonde seemed to be more natural on her compared to the red, but she still missed that hair color. It showed that she was part of her family, more precisely that she was Cass’ sister.

*Hmm…* Elissa touched her double’s breast, felt it and with her other hand compared them. “I went up a cup.”

“Hand off, perv.” The other Elissa batted her hand away.

The redhead scowled at her, and looked ready to fight. She showed it in the fighting stance she immediately adopted and her body language.

This surprised Elissa who stepped back from her, “What? But you aren’t real!”

Redhead Elissa smirked at her and said, “Says Miss Blonde Barbie!”

Elissa knew she had a mouth on her, but she wouldn’t take this lying down even if it was herself. “Oh you wanna fight?”

Redhead Elissa answered her by throwing a fast punch that Blonde Elissa caught easily and with one of her wings, Elissa sent her double flying back. Redhead Elissa righted herself and held her arm before her as she sent a freeze ray at the blonde one who smirked at her and instinctively protected herself with ice wings that absorbed the ray of frost.

Elissa channeled her power through her wings that were colored white as she focused her power and when redhead Elissa’s assault stopped, the real one sent a more powerful Freeze ray through her wings that she used just like two arms and pointed their tips at the redhead.

Instantly the other tried to shield herself by throwing a reactive magical shield before her, but the hexagonal shaped mana construct shattered. Redhead Elissa rolled to the side at the last moment and got back up only to see the real one before her, grabbing her throat and lifting her into the air.

*Was I always this weak?* Elissa told herself.

Redhead Elissa punched her in the face and kicked her flank repeatedly but the real Elissa didn’t even react. Certainly the blows were slightly heavy, but she endured.

“You finished?” Elissa asked her double.

The redhead stopped struggling, looked at this platinum blonde version of herself and decided to give up, she went slack. The real Elissa dropped her on the grass and began to inspect her wings and touch them. The ice-like feathers felt real, but they were cold; it was a weird sensation.

The redheaded double looked at this more powerful version of herself, looked at her own fist and saw the difference between them. The blonde one was more ruthless than her, willing to exploit weaknesses more easily.

“It seems those upgrades pushed on me, made me stronger.” Real Elissa said as she let her wings close behind her back, not dismissing them yet.

“You don’t say.” Redhead Elissa rolled her eyes, she stood up and dusted herself.

They looked at each other, smiled and laughed at themselves. At the same time the two became serious and blonde Elissa began to say, “Reinatiel was right, compared to other ancient humans I was a weak and emaciated little thing.”

Redhead Elissa said the thing that seemed the most important right now, “Then don’t let that shit happen to…”

“Cassandra.” Elissa’s eyes narrowed, and decided that she couldn’t let that happen to her cute sister. She didn’t know what Malicia’s angle was but if she couldn’t see reason? Then she would kidnap her sister and bring her here to get all the energy she needed.

“Good, you got your priorities straight.” Redheaded Elissa said and she put a hand on the blonde one’s shoulder. “However you have something else to do here. Don’t you remember that we can look at the memories of all our ancestors, living or dead?”

Elissa’s eyes brightened at that, she could access her real mother’s memories! “Daphne.”

“Yes, let’s look at her memories!” Redhead Elissa said.

The real Elissa opened her wings wide, took her double’s arm and with a strong beat they were in the sky, heading toward the clouds, more precisely to her favorite spot. The Dreamscape complied with her wish and that particular cloud appeared, it took them thirty seconds to reach it and land before the cloud throne. The two Elissas sat in unison at the expanded cloud spot or should they call it low stool?

“Now what?” Elissa’s double asked.

Elissa answered with, “We focus on what we want to see: Daphne’s Memories.”

Elissa wished to see the earliest memories of her mother as it was a good starting point. The dreamscape’s sky seemed to light up and suddenly a warm golden glow suffused Elissa’s entire being. The clouds and her double disappeared and she was no longer herself.

This is the day that mother Ersha said that I will get another playmate. I dutifully present myself at the throne room’s door reserved for the Imperial family members. I have always wondered why everything is so big and shiny in the Storm Advent castle. The door is silver and the magical runes on it glow blue; it opens and the guards at its side nod to me.

It’s hard to believe they would respect a twelve year old girl such as me if I wasn’t the third Princess. Phantasian men are often such egotistical creatures… I walk up to the center of the room not caring for the courtiers already there and go directly to Mother Ersha’s side. The current Empress, my mother, is focused on unifying the planet; the last country that has resisted the might of the Phantasian army is the land of green hills and dells or more commonly called the Faerie Dells.

Originally they were considered an invasive species that came from beyond our world, entering it through extra dimensional portals two thousand years ago.

Mother looks good today; she’s wearing her white and grey armor with her spear in hand. She’s sitting on the Ice Throne and looks as powerful as ever, her magical aura leaking and cowing her courtiers, not letting the sycophants approach her. I stand before her and kneel until she acknowledges me.

“Rise little one.” A powerful feminine voice tells me.

The green eyes of Ersha the Great settle on me, she is smiling and gesturing for me to stand. I do so smoothly and politely say, “Greetings Mother, you look well today.”

Mother looks satisfied with that, seeing that my lessons in etiquette are paying off. I hate those and wish that I could just freeze the face of this old Hag Mistress Savhiln. I hide my discomfort and listen as my Mother answers me, “Oh I am, Daphne. I finally caused Queen Mab to sue for peace.”

I smile, *Finally, this senseless war is over.* I think. We don’t need more land or more people serving us.

The Phantasian Throne is respected, feared and only loved by their Ancient Human subjects; The Dwermer are neutral to us, the Werecat Kingdom loathes us and the Demons, be they Fallen or not, avoid us. This is easily shown through the courtiers who look at me with hostility believing that they can mask it with a smile. But all Ancient Humans are able to discern it through their enhanced synesthesia.

I don’t voice any of this and simply answer with, “As usual Mother you impress me, I wish to be as powerful as you when I get older.”

This seems to satisfy her too. “You will my dear, now come stand at my side.” Mother Ersha says.

“Yes, Mother.” I nod and trudge up to the side of her throne.

She catches one of my arms and kisses my fingers before releasing my hand. Mother is always good to me and often takes my side when dealing with my older sisters. Today is a good day. A wind chime rings, the signal for when the main event of the court is going to happen. I wait at Mother’s side asking myself how Queen Mab will act.

As the doors open, from the one hundred meters separating the doors to the throne the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen after my mother enters. Even from that far away and with my enhanced vision I can tell that she is not only beautiful but also dangerous. Her hair is black and each time light hits it, it was as if stars and constellations can be seen, her violet eyes momentarily focus on me and she smiles, that smile makes me step back in fear; but mother’s hand catches me.

<Don’t humiliate me. Never retreat this way again.> She sends me via her mind.

I nod and lower my eyes, showing deference. Don’t worry Mother as soon as I can, you’ll never see me again, I don’t want to live by following your example.

The Dark haired beauty is wearing a royal purple and lilac multi-layered dress and silver sandals. I guess that she is Queen Mab. She is tall and willowy but has the gait of an Ice Tiger on the prowl. This woman is dangerous and she knows it; I wish to pull that off when I am grown up.

When she finally arrives before us, my attention is so focused on her that I don't notice that there is someone behind her. Dark haired, porcelain skin, green yellow eyes and golden black horns. The girl seems to be the same age as me and looks shy, timid even.

“Queen Mab.” Ersha acknowledges the Fae Queen.

A rictus appears on the beautiful Queen’s face. “Dread Empress.”

You could hear a pin drop in the throne room, this is my Mother’s nickname. She is hated that much, even more so after the Riven tragedy. An entire city frozen, men, women, children and elderly. If I didn’t love Mother Ersha, I would certainly try to avoid associating with her.

The cold emanating from the Empress envelops the room, some of the courtiers already predicted what would happen and are wearing fur lined cloaks with climate controlling enchantments. Mother Ersha opens her mouth to say, “If it was anyone else, I would have them flayed for this.”

Queen Mab doesn’t look impressed, I felt a burst of magic coming from her, protecting the girl behind her from the bite of the cold. To me the demon girl looks terrified.

Mab cackles at that and then suddenly she has a serious expression on her face. “You would try.” She says as her own maleficent aura is deployed. The shockwave when the two expressions of their powers clashes makes the less powerful members of the court stumble or faint.

I look at the girl behind Queen Mab and see her still standing; so she has steel in her, I see. She looks up and our gazes cross. I smile at her, she shily reciprocates. Hekate, she’s cute. We are interrupted by the wave of power creating another shockwave and my Mother rising from her Ice throne.

*She should have been an actress, she has a flair for the dramatic.*

Mother Eshra’s spear crackles with lightning. “You are in my palace, my place of power I shall remind you.” She says in a barely restrained voice.

Queen Mab opens her arms wide, “Yet, here I am, not afraid of you. That must really upset you.” Her eyes are shining with battle lust.

Mother Ersha harrumphs, “All I am hearing are the powerless roars of a toothless Lion.”

That gets under Mab’s skin as she stops moving and says in a stilted tone, “A toothless lion still has claws, Dread Empress.”

“Enough!” Mother shouts. She looks at Queen Mab and silkily says, “You have come here to swear fealty, you know what will happen if you don’t.”

“Yes…” Queen Mab reluctantly bends the Knee looking as if she wants to curse Mother. “I, Queen Mab Supreme Ruler of the Winter Court swear that I will in the future be faithful to the Empress, never seeking to cause her harm and will observe my commitment to her completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit.”

“I receive your fealty and welcome the Faerie Dells into the fold of the Phantasian Empire.”

Queen Mab stays silent at that.

“And to be sure of your good conduct, I shall make your heir a ward of the throne until her coming of age to be taught the ins and out of the Empire.”

The black haired girl’s eyes become wide and she holds onto Queen Mab. She is crying, and I feel my heart tighten; so she is the heir. It seems that Queen Mab dallied with a demon and produced a Dae. They are common nowadays, but are quite the special beings.

Queen Mab simply hugs her daughter and says something to her in her ear, she then kisses the horned girl and stands up. The girl holds onto her mother’s arm and looks heartbroken, eyes brimming with tears. Mother calls me and says, “Take the girl to your quarters, she shall now be your responsibility.”

“Mother?” I turn to her and watch as her cold eyes are focused on me. Despite being immune to the cold I feel it in my bones.

Mother continues to say, “It is time that you take your duties as an Imperial Princess seriously, Daphne. Malicia will be under your protection.”

This is the first time I am this angry with Mother, separating those two is a sin. I promise myself that I will take good care of this girl called Malicia. I bow to the Empress and state, “As you will, Mother.”

I turn heel and descend the stairs of the dais slowly, approaching Queen Mab I observe how she exudes bitterness, cold anger and resolution. I slightly bow to the Fae Queen, and nod to her.

Mab looks at me and requests, “Girl, take good care of my daughter.”

Looking at Malicia, the dark haired miniature version of Mab, I try to put myself in her shoes. I would be terrified. It is with honesty that I answer her mother. “No one will dare to bully her, I promise you.”

Queen Mab almost touches my shoulder but at the last moment doesn’t. Instead she whispers, “Do that for me, Princess and I shall forever be thankful.”

I shake my head. “You don’t have to, I promise that your daughter will be intact of mind and body until her coming of age, she will be under my protection.”

Mab’s eyes shine silver as she looks at me and cocks her head; then she makes the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. It makes me feel warm inside; as the queen gazes at me, she says, “I believe you.”

Daphne’s memories faded and Elissa felt sad by how the two meeting was over being a hostage for the good conduct of her mother. *So, this is how those two met?*

Redhead Elissa began to cry, reflecting the inner feelings of the real one. This was a sad tale, but knowing that Daphne was such a sweet girl when she was younger made Elissa feel good about being her daughter. As for Ersha, Elissa hoped she was rotting somewhere deep in Hel. She may be her grandmother, but she felt like a bully and a cruel monarch the kind who got beheaded when a revolution happened.

Elissa passed an arm around her redheaded double to calm her down. Once done, she asked the blonde one a question she didn’t really want to answer, “Do you still hate her?”

“I don’t hate Malicia.” Elissa confessed.

In fact, she loved her adoptive mother more than anything, she was her mom. Her earliest memories were of her smiling at her and singing Demon songs about conquest and finding true love. She had always been there, she was also severe and relentless in her teachings.

Elissa’s double nailed her with a, “Why don’t you call her mom, then?”

Elissa put a hand on her chest and looked embarrassed and at the same time vindicated. “I… ok I am really mad at her, my life was a lie. I feel that she could have done a better job if she had told me everything.”

This was what was eating Elissa, that if she had been told everything from the get go some things could have gone differently. There was also the matter of letting her become starved of Cosmic energy, this was something she wasn’t going to forgive Malicia for anytime soon.

“Maybe she had a reason for it?” Her redhead double tried to play devil's advocate.

Knowing Malicia, she certainly had a reason. But Elissa didn’t care one bit. “Maybe. Ok, next memory.”

The same sensation as earlier filled Elissa as her body gained an inner glow that would let any witness see her spiritual meridians. The platinum blonde immersed herself into Daphne memories.

“Look at that, Daphne and her pet.” The unpleasant voice of my second sister interrupts Malicia and my tea party.

We are in the garden of the Storm Castle, under the shadow of a tall sun shade shelter, taking advantage of this beautiful day. It is soon going to be Malicia’s birthday and I am probing her to get any idea about what she wants; however it seems the Fates aren’t smiling on me today.

Eylna is a platinum blonde, she wears her hair long and is as tall as I am; though she is older by two years and thinner, has high cheekbones, and a heart shaped face making her look more like our grandmother than Mother Ersha who has an angular face. My sister is more of a mage than a warrior and is really bad at the warrior arts compared to me.

This morning under the watchful eyes of Mother Ersha I defeated her soundly without using magic or body reinforcement in the Arena of Glory. She hates Malicia for no reason other than that she is half-demon and she and her clique of sycophants often go out of their way to try and bully or fight her when I am otherwise engaged with my instructors.

“Eylna, sister. Have you come for me to dish out further humiliation upon you? I thought you had had enough this morning.” I say nonchalantly.

My sister’s grin melts to be replaced by a thin line, making her look like an angry ghost. I never liked her; is it because Mother Ersha always makes it so that we are competing? My first sister, Arva is kinder than her and more competent. I admire her for her political savviness and her own power, looking at Eylna I feel no respect for her at all.

“You smug little…” Eylna begins to say.

Hekate, why me? Couldn’t I have been born in a normal family? I wish I had true sisters, like Malicia who would always have my back. Speaking of the Dae, she puts a hand on mine and looks sadly into my eyes.

“Let’s go Daphne, this sore loser isn’t worth your time.” Malicia says.

Such a good day ruined, it makes me feel a bit down; I nod to Malicia and drain my teacup of the cold liquid inside, then stand up completely ignoring my sister.

“What was that?” Eylna says, as the atmosphere around her suddenly grows cold.

A sign that things are about to go south, I hope we won’t have to destroy this fine garden today. Malicia’s eyes glow, her emotions running high it is a sure bet that we will have to fight, I have gotten to know her over the last three years.

Malicia’s mouth suddenly opens and I am again witness to her vicious tongue.“I said that you are a sore loser?” The Dae declares. Her claws extending as anger taints her voice. “Why did you come here by the way? Did one of your yes men spy on us like usual? Does it make you feel so great to hound us and harass us for your own feelings of inadequacies? Eylna Snow, you are such a…”

Eylna throws an ice dagger at Malicia that I deflect with my tea cup that I throw expertly, it doesn’t stop here as my sister looks out of her mind. Reinforcing my body by circulating my mana I jump at Eylna who draws her sword and flows toward me trying to thrust her blade to strike at my head. Malicia waves her hand and sends my sister flying, giving me the time to do the same with my sword. Eylna gets up agilely as she rolled with the impact of Malicia’s force spell.

“Eylna stop this!” I shout.

But she ignores me and sends three ice magic missiles at me. I channel mana into my two handed sword and deflect the first two, while the other is heading toward Malicia who simply steps away from it.

“Fine Eylna, we will play rough.”

I lung at my sister and thrust my sword low to strike at her wrist, Eylna sees the danger and retreats then attempts to parry but it is a feint and I strike her collarbone. My blade is stopped by her magical shield but I put sufficient strength in my blow to make her recoil; quickly channeling mana into my sword I still pierce the shody shield that breaks with a noise like shattering glass.

Malicia takes advantage of this and sends a fireball at my sister who doesn’t have time to avoid and takes the spell head on. Her exposed midriff is struck by the flaming ball and Eylna is on her back, holding her burned abdomen howling.

*This... it must hurt like an imperial whore.*

I run up to Eylna and see that Malicia didn’t go easy on her, I call for the healers on my Bracelet and wait trying to help the dumb bitch. She doesn’t accept it, and tells me to go away while screaming like she is being butchered.

Looking at Malicia, I see her evil smirk and green yellow eyes shining. *I think I need to speak with her.*

Once Eylna is taken care of, I take Malicia’s hand and pull her toward the exit of the once peaceful garden. Turning left onto the patio and ushering us through the palace’s door.

“Daphne.” Malicia whines.

I ignore the little demon and continue to walk toward the palace’s residential wing. The guards salute us, but I see their naked disdain for my companion. I feel so angry that I want to kill them all.

“You are hurting me.” Malicia says in a little voice.

I stop and look at our joined hands and indeed I am tightening my grip too much. I eased off. “I am sorry, Mal.”

“It’s ok, I am used to it.” The Dae girl says, rubbing her hand.

She shouldn’t! I take her hand delicately in mine and kiss her fingers. Then I look at her in the eyes and ask, “What happened out there, Mal?”

There is no one in the corridors, strange. Then I notice that Malicia has cast a spell around us; something akin to a notice-me-not? It is hard to tell when a sorceress like us are using spells as we manipulate mana in different shapes to obtain the desired effect.

“I have had enough of that hag damned girl. Next time I will curse her, I tell you.” Malicia’s eyes tell me she is being serious.

I agree with her, my sister keeps becoming too belligerent. “The next time I might have to cripple her, you know.”

I hope she is never chosen to be the next Empress, she is unable to see farther than her own selfish desires and grievances. She is actually worse than Mother Ersha.

Malicia snorts. “You should have begun with that.”

I stop moving and look at the Dae who doesn’t look like she’s feeling any guilt over what she just said. “She’s still my sister.” I don’t want to hurt my own family; I just want to be left alone and live my life without the weight of expectations.

Malicia makes a cute cackle. “Then she should read the Hekate damned memo.”

I shake my head and trek through the main corridor of this wing, hand in hand with Malicia. We walk together to her suite. As I open the door and enter, I find myself pushed into the room by a smiling Malicia who closes the dense wooden door with a hit of her hips. I know what is going to happen but I welcome it.

Malicia cups my face with her hand, her claw cutting the clasp of my cloth armor. I don’t wait and begin to kiss her soundly, making her step back against the door where I hold her.

“Thank you.” My lover and best friend says as she kisses me intermittently on the mouth.

“What for?” I whisper, continuing to lick her neck.

Her hold tightened on me, as if she were afraid to let go. “For being there for me.” She simply says.

I stop and gaze into her in her gorgeous green and yellow opalescent eyes.“I always will be.”

Elissa withdrew from the memories shuddering at the implications that they elicited. However, her double worded her inner feelings perfectly.

“That was so Ewwww! Yuck! It was like french-kissing my own mother.” Redhead Elissa said while spitting on the cloud.

Elissa agreed one hundred percent, and hoped not to find herself reliving the moment of her conception if that ever happened. “Ok, I will try to be more specific when something like that happens in our mom’s memories.”

Redhead Elissa smiled. “You called her mom.”

Elissa froze, thought about it for a while before asking, “Don’t you think she deserves it?”

Redhead Elissa played with one of her braids, shily “She sure does, and she’s really cool.”

And it was at that moment the real Elissa understood that the redheaded one was her subconscious talking to her.

Redhead Elissa’s cackle would have obtained an appreciative nod from Malicia. “You finally realized.”

“I am…” Elissa closed her eyes in annoyance.

“So Blonde, now I totally understand why we miss the obvious sometimes.” Redhead Elissa hugged the real one and began to dissipate, “Thanks for the ride.”

“Am I really that annoying?” Elissa asked herself.

She shook her head and focused on what really matters, finding the truth! So, Elissa asked a really specific thing from the Dreamscape. “I really want to know what happened when I was born.” After thirty seconds the spiritual realm gave her an answer, Elissa was being shown the memory the most relevant to her.

I have battled countless Fallen, taken down Elder Dragons, quelled Rebellions with all my magic, abilities and the strength of my body, but nothing prepared me for such suffering. Delivering my daughter has been the most difficult thing I have done in my life. Especially in such trying times, the demon fist army is marching on Storm Advent, the capital.

They took us by surprise, and those idiot nobles made things worse by not seeing the danger! If I get out of this alive, I will strip them of their titles and ancestral lands and put them to the sword myself. Not letting the Imperial army pass your territory because you feel threatened? Or refusing to let logistics skyships land to deliver their cargo? This was sedition!

Elissa is crying in my arms, looking at her she is such a fat little baby. Her hair is like spun gold due to the placental fluid still on her. I dare not clean her with magic, the Imperial midwife has told me that infants of her age are too sensitive to mana and it might poison her.

BAKOOOOM.

The castle shakes, causing my daughter to cry even louder; as I consult the ward a rectangular video vision appears before my eyes. “They are here.” I say. How did it come to this? All I have ever wanted was peace and for the planet to be safe for everyone. The Hekate damned nobles, the Fallen and their new master.

CLACK.

“Daphne! We must leave, NOW.” Malicia enters my bedroom like a hurricane. Her aura crackles around her, there is blood all over her dress as if she has battled some of the Fallen already. Which she has surely done to slow them down. But I cannot just flee, that isn’t what an Empress should do. Now I understand Mother Ersha.

“You know I can’t, Malicia. For me there is no retreat.” I say and this decision solidifies in my mind, I won’t let those degenerates have free rein in my Empire. I am Daphne Snow and I have a duty to my people.

Malicia’s tears fall down her cheeks and she comes to my side of the bed and tries to help me up, careful not to hurt Elissa. “Don’t be an idiot! Now get up!”

I feel the love and concern she has for me, it has always been there since we met a century ago. Smiling, I cover my beautiful baby with the cloak that was already prepared for her. Then I hold her out to Malicia and say, “Take her, protect my baby. If you don’t hear back from me in six months, go to Gaia.”

“What? No! Come with me.” Malicia tries to hug me, but I stop her and make her hold onto my little baby girl.

“I need to hold them here. Make them pay for taking this Castle, I may be weak right now but…” I say. I am terribly weakened, but there is a way.

“You intend to rely on the Ruler’s Sleep?!” Malicia looks horrified.

Yes, I am that desperate. I have never tried to consciously enter into the Ruler’s Sleep, but for the cute baby in my lover’s arms? For the love of Hekate I will succeed.

I give a hollow laugh, Malicia has always been able to see through me and I am not surprised that she knows about it; her mother, the Fae Queen must have complete information on the powers of her enemies.“Yes, but don’t worry I won’t stop and I won’t quit. The Empress cannot flee.” That is something I learned from Mother Ersha.

“You idiot…” Malicia cries.

“Now get out of here, I have some fallen to make pop.” I say stroking her cheek.

Malicia looked at me for an instant, then left running with the second love of my life through the door of my bedroom.

I won’t die, Elissa must have a mother to come back to. My cold Aura spreads around me, falling into its comfortable embrace I let the Ruler’s Sleep take me. While I am at it, I am going to take away this little advantage they thought they would have by using our own technology. I give the Ice Casket intelligence it’s order, the Prometheus protocol is active.

The memories faded and Elissa was herself yet again. She didn’t know what to feel or what to think. After five minutes lying there on her cloud, she began to sob and then started to weep. The Dreamscape became unstable as the young woman saw the bravery of her mother, *she saved my life.*

Elissa knew that Daphne couldn’t shirk her duty and leave her people to suffer, she didn’t take it personally that she didn’t come with Malicia to Earth. The anguish and sorrow that she felt, she directed it at those responsible, the Phantasian nobles, the Fallen and everyone related to them. In a short moment a resolute and great sense of purpose was born in her heart.

“I will make them pay!” The spiritual realm around Elissa turned from a shade of pink to purple.

“I will kill them.” Deep purple, now.

“I will erase them!” And now to sepulcral black.

Elissa laughed maniacally. “What will those scum call me, when I am done with them? Hero, Monster?”

Without warning, she found herself fading from the Dreamscape, she didn’t panic. It was the same feeling she had when Hekate booted her out of this spiritual realm. Elissa woke up in her bed, the sunlight passing through the windows of the Yurt. She shielded her eyes and felt herself alert and rested. The same feeling of resolve and purpose driving her.

Elissa got out of bed and sighed. “First I have to get my powers and magic under control again.”

“Elissa.” Dicinna’s soft alto voice called to her.

The young woman turned to the dark elf who was standing there with eyes as big as saucers.

“Hi, Dicinna.” Elissa waved her off and was about to enter the toilet.

The dark elf pointed her finger at her and said, “I don’t know if you are aware but… you have blue wings on your back.”

Elissa looked behind her and shouted as she realized that she indeed had the same wings from her trip in the dreamscape.

“What?!” She shouted.