Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 162: Curse of [Beauty]

Our initial clash of Power had been explosive and deadly. The repercussions had cracked the floor and ceiling where our attacks had intersected. But the damage to the Sithern was transient, it could be repaired instantly. The dozen or so lives that had been extinguished as our powers clashed were gone for good. I felt no guilt with their deaths. The only people in this room were all Court functionaries. They had enabled the Seelie Monarchy, allowing them to break the treaty.

Queen Mab was resplendent in her fury. Draped in red silks and ruby garnets she exuded an otherworldly beauty that few could match, even if most of it was an illusion. A Glamour that she had cast to hide imperfections, attract the light, and create prisms of radiance that beguiled and bewitched. She was known as a Queen of the Court of Light and used her influence over that domain to cast an aura of purity and goodness that was ethereal.

And a lie. Illusion and glamour were as a part of every Sidhe. And it was the one way we could lie to ourselves and others. What we created had shape and substance. Our illusions were not insubstantial constructs. Bits of gossamer that could not be touched. They were the physical manifestation of our dreams. Will and intent that manifested in the physical realm.

A Sidhe illusion was so real that it could kill because we warped the fabric of reality with our abilities. The illusion that fooled the mind so completely that a well-constructed illusion empowered with will and intent could do battle and slay their opponents.

The mind had an amazing ability to believe, to fool itself. And when it was confronted with an image that it believed real, it responded to that reality.

[Diadem of Focus] stripped all those illusions allowing me to see what was, not what she wanted me to see. With the illusions dispelled her ability to charm me was also dispelled, that ability was her most powerful. It was how she had maintained her rule for so long. No one could be certain what was real and wasn't when she cast illusion. It was as close to a lie as our nature and Oaths would allow.

Her abilities with glamour and light were a potent combination. Few could withstand falling under her charms. Most would agree to anything she asked, because of those charms. It was possible that the Court had even ignored System announcements and the treatment of my vassals because their Will had been removed. For some of them, but not all. There were Powers that were so strong that illusion really was the bit of gossamer fluff that people thought of when they thought of illusion and trickery.

But it did give me an idea.

She would use glamour to enhance her beauty, to confuse the mind and confound the senses, I would remove my glamour to reveal my curse of beauty. I had never used the gift of [Beauty] that I had received, not for bargaining or as a weapon, but it seemed fitting to fight fire with fire in this instance.

Draping Irvin in Meara's harness, making sure he would not fall from her back, I slid to the floor and stalked forward. As I did, I removed my mask of ice, the barrier that protected those from the changes that had been wrought when I'd been restored to life and confronted with the fake avatar of Gwynn ap Nudd.

King Lugh and Consort Puck moved to bookmark the Queen, wary, concerned enough to draw weapons, they made it clear they would protect Mab. But they also lay restraining hands on her shoulders, a caution, a warning that she needed to step carefully. She had attacked first. If not for the fact that my spells and auras were able to be cast instantly, mine would have been the shortest reign of any Monarch on Talahm.

I didn't care that I would need to face all three of them, but I did allow my senses to expand and categorize who was in the room. The Court had at one time been divided, an equal division of light and shadow that had been claimed by either faction. But with my investiture as a Ranked: Monarch, a System acknowledged co-equal of the Talahm World Government, the Sithern had been re-shaped itself, forming a triangle, with three areas clearly delineated. The Seelie and Unseelie that were in the room aligned themselves by faction and gathered in or near the thrones of their respective Monarchs.

A World Announcement had mentioned that the Cathair-bhaile Sithern had assigned my faction equal space to the Seelie and Unseelie, it was only now that I understood what that meant. The area that was designated for the Tuatha de Danaan was shapeless, hidden by a billowing fog that kept anyone from entering. Formless, an area of possibilities, the Sithern waited to respond to my will and desires before completing construction.

Looking at the decadence that the Seelie and Unseelie had decorated their respective areas with, using wealth to project power, each side was mirrored the other's throne room. The only difference, the Unseelie used opposing colors, metals, fabrics, and gems.

Ignoring Mab, I used my connection with Saor Sithern to facilitate communications with Cathair-bhaile, claiming the space the Sithern had gifted me. My actions, ignoring the danger that she and the Seelie represented, only incited her fury further, but that was part of my strategy. If she really was insane and not just borrowing the trappings of madness for effect, then angry and insane meant her reasoning and actions would be unpredictable.

I wanted that unpredictability. I wanted both courts to understand exactly who she had become or was pretending to be. And if the madness was an act, she was intelligent enough to realize it served no purpose now, in fact, Seelie individuals, Powers that had been too long under her yoke, may decide to use this moment of tension to format or engage in an insurrection.

I felt her power; her attempts to crush my will and gain control of my mind, but they seemed filtered, my mind swimming in a pool of honey that forced her attacks to batter against the viscous liquid, losing strength in the process. As a newly anointed Ranked: King, she should have succeeded. She was ancient, steeped in power and knowledge that had withstood the test of time. The fact that I could shrug off her attacks should have given her pause, had her at least re-evaluating my own Power. It didn't.

I wasn't vain enough to think that I withstood her abilities based on my own abilities. The King's Regalia I was wearing had increased my stat points to almost Demi-God levels. If King Lugh and Consort Puck joined her to attack, I'm not sure what would happen, the chances were high that they would succeed. But Mab had used mental attacks of coercion and repression as her opening gambit. Lugh and Puck may have been aware of what she was doing, but they had no way to know for sure or to help her.

I had chosen this time to confront Mab because the Seelie and Unseelie were in joint session, both Courts had convened. And I thought I could use the Unseelie-Seelie enmity to my advantage. The Morrigu would take great delight in seeing Mab thwarted, but with the discovery of the Redcaps in the dungeon, they might even go so far as to join my attacks. I knew I would have to deal with them too, at some point, but today, they would serve as leverage. The enemy of my enemy allowed me to manipulate events slightly.

Entering the fog, I shared with the Cathair-bhaile, the illusionary throne room I had crafted in Lord Blayney's office. I did make some changes. Instead of blue Sodalite, I tinged the stone purple. The Seelie gloried in white, the Unseelie in black, I would make royal purple my signature color.

The [Diadem of Focus] was a masterpiece of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, so I altered the throne to reflect and mirror the construction of the crown. I embedded each gem with a bit of glamour that would mimic the ability of Wisps, lighting up and blinking randomly, dispersing rays of light that danced with the same delight. But I also added the randomness of Winter. Patterns of snow that gave randomness to order. I did have the Sithern create a purple cushion to make sitting on the throne bearable.

Cathair-bhaile Sithern was as responsive as my own Saor Sithern. The fog that had encased the area that had been designated Tuatha de Danaan cleared as my mental image manifested. I created fireballs of light, shooting them off by the dozen to position themselves around the throne. Each fireball strung, one to the next until I had made enough so that my intention would be known.

The Seelie would claim the light. The Unseelie would claim the shadows. The Tuatha de Danaan would claim both.

Happy with the craftsmanship and adaptability of the Sithern, I began alternating my Beleros and Cyronax Auras, a dichotomy of fire and ice. Reds, blues, and yellows of Beleros Aura contrasting with the purity of white, the crystal geometric perfection of Cyronax.

The effect intensified the Raiment bringing into stark relief the details that had been ignored when I first donned the set. The armor crafted with enameled ceramics that blazed with the illusion of sunset or sunrise depending on how the light was reflected. The cloak, enchanted fur, reminiscent of the softest white Ermine, embedded with sparkles of snowflakes billowing and stirring giving each individual strand of fur dimension. And a scepter, more jeweled mace than a useless symbol of power, it was heavy and durable enough to be used as a weapon.

With the removal of the ice mask, the features of my face shone brightly, somehow dimming the radiance of the King's Raiment. Mab, Lugh, and Puck. The Morrigu. They were the pinnacle of Sidhe's perfection and beauty. The idealized standard of beauty the Seelie and Unseelie forced the Sidhe to strive for. In my Raiment with the curse of [Beauty] blazing forth, I eclipsed their standard of perfection.

And as I finally took my seat, as I sat for the first time on the Tuatha de Danaan throne, System acknowledged my actions.

[System Announcement: King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax and the Tuatha de Danaan faction have joined the Talahm Court. The triumvirate of Power is complete.]