Book 2 Chapter 46: The true crisis
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Hey, new chapter finally. It was a bit of a delay due to Christmas stuff. That's why it's about a day late compared to my usual schedule. Anyway, if anyone's interested, I also updated my writing series (Jemini's guide to better writing.) It's a chapter on where to find inspiration for how you inject believability into your writing. I do not believe I can accurately describe the ever shifting true rules of how writing works, but I can point people to things that do it right and explore how to learn from that material. Do check it out if you're interested.

Aerien’s POV
 
“You highness, an emergency meeting of the fey court has been called, her majesty has asked that you attend.” Esgal showed up to my training room with this message. “I would ask that you return to your room to change into your formal robes.”
 
“I see.” I give her a curt reply, my older side jumping into control as soon as I heard the serious nature of why she was here. “Lead the way then. Rolwen, Levin, you can take a break, follow me back, or practice as you like. Whatever you do, do not over-strain yourselves. Excess is bad for you at your current stage of development.”
 
After instructing them that far, I proceeded from the room without them. The reason I did not say anything to Gaerien is because I knew she would do what she wanted even without me saying anything. Right now, she was sitting in the lotus position over in a corner, gathering energy. She says that there is so much energy here that it doesn’t matter what my proximity is to her now, she can gather it anywhere. I have to say though, a baby in the lotus position looks pretty strange.
 
They were not behind me when I left, which I suppose means they did not choose the second of the options I offered. Well, there is fairly little to keep them occupied in my room. There is fairly little I am interested in there as well. The lot of us have spent most of our waking time in the training room since Sagel had it constructed, and the time we spent in my room was only to eat or sleep. I could tell the boys were quite eager to get their bodies functioning with the same freedom as their grown bodies of their previous life, and since they had already seen results they are throwing themselves whole-heartedly into their exercises.
 
On our way to my room, we meet Sagel in the hall. I had him checking in on the lawyer Steven and making certain he had everything he needed. After that fast move the prosecutor tried to pull earlier, I did not want to take any chances with them finding a way to interfere with the lawyer. However, for some reason, he was dropping to one knee in front of me now.
 
“Your highness.” He said in the customary greeting. “Eirlathion has just been detained again. They decided to press forward with the charges.”
 
“Thank you Sagel.” I responded. “What is Steven doing?”
 
“He is on his way to request disclosure from the prosecution. He plans to pour over the documents for the rest of the day until the arraignment begins tomorrow morning.”
 
“I see. They should not have any reason to interfere with him now. Please be available to him for any assistance he may need, you can do as you like when he does not need you.”
 
“Yes your highness. How is the boy’s training going, may I ask?” Sagel asked.
 
“I had them practicing some mobility drills in regards to how to handle a fall.” I told him.
 
“I see, I take that to mean the style you are familiar with is an armored style? That is excellent then, it should synergize quite well with the training I am to give them.”
 
“Ahem!” Esgal gave an impatient clearing of her throat.
 
“Oh, yes!” I responded. “My mother, the queen, has apparently summoned me to participate in an emergency meeting of the court. Thank you for this update, I am sure it will come up somewhere during the meeting, it will put my mind at ease to know it is being handled.”
 
“Well then, I wish you luck your highness.” Sagel lowers his head and then stands to move out of my path.
 
“We had best hurry along your highness.” Esgal goads, and then we proceed along to my room. It is kinda crazy that Sagel managed to get the permission to construct something like a training room on such an extravagant floor of the… would it be called a castle? They all call it the great tree. Well, whatever you would call it, it seems odd to have such a thing on what is clearly meant to be the refined level. Perhaps he was able to get the permission since it was Gaerien, me, and the boys who would be training in there. A private training area for us, huh? Well, I couldn’t imagine any of these fairies going through any sort of knight training anyway, so I suppose it all works out.
 
When we arrive at my room, Gwilitphen has a basin and a towel hanging from it all ready, as well as a privacy screen. It seems these ladies are quite diligent to have thought of how I may be sweating after my exercise. As soon as the screen is drawn, I am stripped down and given a quick sponge bath and then dried before I have the formal robes along with some proper undergarments as well as some leggings to cover up my modesty in lieu of my pants given how much below the waist is exposed by this design.
 
Once dressed properly, I am immediately shepherded to the teleportation ring in order to be brought to the top of the tree.
 
-
 
When I arrive, I immediately activate the levitation and wind propulsion functions of my enchanted clothing before my mother can yank me off the ground again. I had practiced with it briefly just to figure out how to activate it and move around, but this is my first time using it with any kind of real space to fly around.
 
I take a position next to where my adoptive mother’s massive head is. It seems she shifts her position every time I come here. Of course, that’s to be expected. However, I have begun to also somewhat recognize some features of the others here. I have not been around long enough to recognize any faces, but I can identify that some of the fairies among them are dressed differently. What’s more, those who are dressed in certain patterned robes are always in the exact same orientation in the space relative to the queen’s position. It certainly becomes rather conspicuous when they always move like that. I do not have the information needed to discern the meanings of the heraldry for each colored robe set, but I am certain it must have something to do with alegience to certain families or factions within the court. Well, if you join families through adoption, then it is very possible the two are one and the same.
 
‘Please come on to my good side Aerien.’ My mother says in a very restrained voice that gives testament to her control over her power. I had levitated up to her left side, the side with her bad eye. I suppose that would be a little inconsiderate of me.
 
As I was changing my position, some one else who seemed to be acting as the caller spoke up. ‘The princess has arrived. As this is an emergency meeting in which urgency was called for, this shall be considered the mark it is time to start. Any late arrivals will have to take position silently. Now then, getting down to business. Lord Shugen of my justice committee has returned from his dispatch to the village of Rima. He is the one who has requested I call for this emergency convergence of the courts. He will take the floor from this point forward in order to report his findings.’
 
‘Thank you Lord Faranti’ the much smaller dragon, who must be this Lord Shugen, said to the larger dragon who was just speaking. The smaller dragon flew to the very center of the space between the trees, taking a position below the queen’s head but still very prominent in the center of the court. ‘Ladies and Lords of the court! I have returned in haste after my subordinates discovered something rather disturbing in the course of interviewing the towns folk of Rima and refugees of Cundo. Before I proceed much further, I must tell you one key point. The nursery tree of Rima, which had previously shown no signs of even having a nymph in possession of an ego, has awoken a dryad.’
 
There was a wave of very unsettling energy arising from the court, which I suppose must qualify as this venue’s equivalent of a large collective gasp of some sort. It did certainly match the agitated look in the movements of some of the dragons along the wall as well. I could likely read the faces of the fairies better, if I were close enough to see them.
 
‘I had, at the time, returned to the capital with a pair of witnesses to the events of Cundo who were powerful enough to resist the arcane energies of the nearby battle lines. My subordinates flew back with all haste to inform me of what they had found. After informing my Lord, Lord Faranti, as well as a representative of the arbor committee I then flew back to Rima to speak with the dryad in question, feeling it was my failing to make up for that I had not discovered this. And, what I found at that time only makes this news more disturbing. From what I could tell, its demeanor did not seem at all dissimilar to an established dryad who had been present for multiple hundreds of years.’
 
That wave of discomfort only seemed to intensify after this was said. At this point, my mother the queen felt the need to speak up.
 
‘I can see now why you felt the need to bring us this information. I will ask my daughter now what she sees in this.’
 
What!? So I’m on the spot now? Right. This is probably why she asked for me to come here. She is supposed to be testing me here. I guess she is established enough in her power she does not have to worry about the obvious appearances of this.
 
Alright, so, a dryad who is just born shows the intelligence of a dryad who has been around for a while. Not only that, it was just born without showing any signs of the normal growth process preceding becoming a dryad. And, finally, it is the neighboring village to the one I was born in. Yeah, you really don’t have to think very hard at all to figure this one out.
 
“It has to be related to the dryad of my village.” I say. “What’s more, it could easily be more intelligent than the average dryad. It was probably attempting to hide it’s intelligence by mimicking the behaviors of other dryads it had conversed with. However, they made the mistake of basing their behaviors on one that was older than they were supposed to be.”
 
The court actually got noisy with thoughts that could not be kept in from these words. An entire courts of ‘What!?’ and ‘How could this be happening!?’ kept coming up everywhere until a powerful and repressive intimidation aura started pouring off of mother in waves until everyone quieted down.
 
‘Lord Shugen. Did you sense that this was likely the case?’
 
‘I suspected it immediately, this is part of the reason I came back here with the haste that I did.’
 
‘Only a part? Continue with your report, what is the other part.’
 
‘Yes, the other part is that there was a traveler in Rima during the time of these interviews. My subordinates learned from him that yet another dryad has awoken in his own village, and it seemed he was going around to spread the word. Along his travels, he mentioned Rima was the second village he had visited. The first… had also awoken it’s own dryad. This is four villages then aside from Cundo that have recently awoken dryads.’
 
‘This is an emergency!’ Someone blurted out, setting off another wave of chaotic energies in the room. This time, even the energies that the massive queen dragon was putting off couldn’t calm them down. As I looked down, I could see a few of the fairies were fleeing the tree-tops for some reason. I got a sneaking suspicion what was about to happen.
 
‘ORDER EVERYONE! ORDER!’ It was not mother who shouted, but a large dragon different from the Lord Faranti who began the meeting. It seemed was respected enough that people began to calm down… no, it wasn’t just that. Several of the smaller dragons seemed a little dazed, and looking down I could see some of the fairies kneeling on the ground. It actually didn’t seem that exceedingly loud to me though. Perhaps my tolerance to the energies they use to project their voice is just higher?
 
At any rate, with people somewhat settled, it was mother’s turn to take the floor again. ‘This is indeed a crisis. We must first discern the full scope of what has happened. I will dispatch the entire arbor comittie, and I will give Lord Baltair permission to requisition members of the civics committee in order to aid them as well, the selection of the specific members however will be left to Lady Frent’s discretion.
 
Well, I really didn’t know much about these committees or those specifics, but the gysts of the situation were pretty clear, and I could see an opportunity in them to bring up something Sagel relayed to me as a request from Steven. I flew over to mother in order to contact her scaled eye-ridge, as that was the only way I knew at this point to initiate a private conversation.
 
‘Mother, I have something to request. It could aid in this situation.’
 
‘I see. In that case, I will not tolerate it being asked in secret like this. If you do not speak it to the court, the answer will be no.’
 
So that’s how it is, huh? Well, time to pretend and start that conversation over again from the beginning.
 
“Mother, I have a request.” I said aloud this time.
 
‘What is it Aerien?’
 
“I have heard there are some other individuals from Earth who had committed a crime similar to the one Eirlathion is accused of, they are currently serving their sentence at the old location of the capital. I had wanted to ask you if they could be tried again under Earth’s laws, but I feel in this situation that perhaps they can be put to good use among this arbor committee. Perhaps you can condition their release or access to a re-trial on their enlistment in this effort?”
 
‘I see. That is a rather brilliant idea. Very well, we can discuss the rest later. For the time being, I will issue a change in their sentence. They are to be released and adopted into Barron families within the Arbor Comittie. Their aid will be most welcome should any powerful newly awoken dryads cause issue. Now then, Aerien. Before we convene this meeting of the court, are there any additional insights or questions you have on this manner? If this is truly in regards to the dryad of Cundo village, this concerns you a great deal.’
 
Is that so then? Well, I suppose there is one thing that has been bothering me.
 
“Yes, I do have a question for Lord Shugen.”
 
‘Yes your highness. What is it you wish to ask?’
 
“You mentioned at the start you found the dryad’s behavior to be, to use your words, ‘not in any way dissimilar’ to that of a several hundred year old dryad. However, you also said that you had suspected this dryad was pretending and that is why you came to us. What was it specifically that caused you to suspect this? Was there any flaw in the dryad’s acting?”
 
‘What made me suspicious was merely the inconsistency between actual age and behavior, along with the proximity to Cundo village.’
 
“I see, well, this is very important then. I am attempting to get an estimate of how intelligent this dryad truly is, and the accuracy of one’s acting skills when portraying someone less intelligent than themselves is a good indicator as it requires excellent observation skills to see the behavior of others, and excellent acting skills in order to accurately reproduce them. These are both very high intelligence skills, so I need you to tell me. Assuming these factors you just told me were not present, and you had not previously been told when this dryad had awoken, would you have had any reason to doubt an age of a few hundred years for this dryad?”
 
‘If these factors were not the case…’ the dragon, Lord Shugen trailed off into thought. ‘It is hard to say, I was suspicious from the start. That being the case though, I do believe that the dryad’s behavior was entirely consistent with one who was a few hundred years of age. There was no mistake in the behavior.’
 
Once again, that unsettled energy began to rise up in the area.
 
“I see.” I said in response. “In that case, either this dryad really is only slightly more intelligent than their age should suggest, or if that is not the case then they are equivalent in intelligence to some of the smartest minds in human society.”
 
‘I am afraid, princess, it can only be the latter.’ Lord Shugen said. ‘As I stated before, this dryad had also not shown signs of an ego before awakening. If it were the former, they ought to at least have been more confused in regards to their surroundings. I believe there is simply no chance of it being the scenario you mentioned first.’
 
“I see. Well, there is nothing else I have to add.”
 
After this, mother took the stage once again. ‘Now that we have a better idea of what we are dealing with, I will ask that the arbor committee proceed with caution. The rest of the dryads, if they are the same, ought to act in a similar manner. In order to avoid agitating them, play along as though you believe their act, and dominate them only as a last resort and only if you have the power equivalent to a count available behind you. We also do not know how strong they are. Your primary objective for now is just to discover how many villages possess dryads where they had not a mere week ago. As for those villages which did previously have dryads, they are to be evaluated for any signs of change following this mass awakening. That is all. This meeting of the court is adjourned.’

Subscribers' comments of the chapter
 
"I believe this is what we call a revolution."
                                                        -Vorquel
 
"all the homes when from 1936 to 2467 smart homes rofl"
                                                        -Roy
 
"Dryad onee sama is getting ready"
                                                       -meowingLexi

Alright, comments are back. But... Roy? WTF man?
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