Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 171: Bloodies Gifts

It had taken years.

Three decades of maneuvering, often just treading water, but we had finally succeeded.

Thirty years. I was finally of age to chance the Ascension chamber. A Ranked King, and only now considered an adult. But today, I would represent the Sidhe and Talahm in Senate today and cast the vote for our freedom. The Sidhe would take their place among the stars, finally escaping the jail that Zeus and Odin had created because of jealousies and fears.

Brigda and her powers of foresight had helped us navigate the shoals of politics that invested the halls of that Universal Congress. Her council had become invaluable, and she had stepped up, proven to be the Queen her faction needed. Her steadfastness made a difference. There was no more of the bouts of madness or capricious nature that defined Seelie superiority.

She had been brutal in the first year of her second reign as Queen. She had begun by replacing the entire Court. But they had become too entrenched, too familiar within the halls of Power. They understood that sometimes it is the power hidden beneath the surface, those dealings done within the shadows that resulted in solutions.

But they had not been subtle. Too used to Mab's lack of interest, to realize that Queen Brigda was not Mab. They tried to pull the strings of power from within the shadows, and she responded. Shining the light, the Seelie were so proud of claiming, on those shadows and painting the walls red with the blood of sanctimonious fools who had failed to realize the debuffs that System had given them was the end.

They had been neutered. They just hadn't realized it, until Queen Brigda began confiscating properties, wealth, and lives.

Her efforts hadn't stemmed the tide of faction repudiation, as more and more people disavowed the Seelie Faction and joined the Tuatha de Danaan. But eventually, after a System quest that was both onerous and humiliating, she had expunged the betrayal of honor that my Vassals had suffered under the hands of Queen Mab, removing the few sanctions that System had allowed to carry over after Mab had been killed.

With crop and production fertility restored to normal, the bleeding of the Seelie faction slowed. A trickle remained, as those who had remained childless for so long, had given up of ever having a child, decided to claim the gift the Tuatha de Danaan faction proffered.

It had been her suggestion that Irvin be included in the first group the planet fielded as ambassadors. An attempt to mend fences and demonstrate her sincerity. His youth and burgeoning abilities were convenient and useful. In time, hundreds of years in the future, he would assume the rank of Ombudsman and be named our planet's Senator.

Unfortunately, he was too broken to assume that position. He had renounced his efforts to embrace the role of Peacemaker, choosing instead the path of the vigilante. Searching for those last remnants and holdovers that espoused Mab's fanaticism. With her powers of foresight, she had to have known he would refuse. I wondered over the years as Irvin changed, becoming less the vibrant young Kelpie full of ideals that I had first met, if she hadn't known he would refuse, and made the offer to force him to choose a path.

Taking our place on the Universal stage opened a plethora of System Ranks and titles that had been denied our people until now. A Ranked Senator had access to skills and level growth that revolved around the duties they performed in the Senate.

Unlike a Ranked King or Queen who has to gain levels to gain Ranks, those found in the Senate were mostly honorary Ranks and only lasted as long as a World Planetary body supported that title. The Senator Rank was different. System increased the level of the person appointed. Comparable to Sidhe Prince Rank, the elevation was permanent.

Today, I would stand before the august body and vote to accept the proposal offered by the Egyptian contingent. My actions honorary. I would not be invested as our planet's Senator. That duty had fallen to another. I addressed the assembly today, bereft of rank, a petitioner from Talahm, but not powerless. The vote had already been taken and Talahm had narrowly claimed the win. We would be claiming the vacant chair that had long been gathering dust in the halls of the Senate.

Today's event would be held in a public arena. A coliseum where I would speak was dozens of times larger than the one built on Earth. But the trappings were the same. I was expected to exit the gates that had held back the beasts, the lions and tigers that were sent to their deaths against gladiators.

The Senate and outlying buildings had been built based mostly on architecture found in Olympus. I thought the themes pretentious and grandiose, and I wondered how they had managed to convince the other Pantheons to conform to this building type.

The symbolism wasn't lost to me. My presentation on the sands of an arena was too reminiscent of being thrown to the lions. I was no Spartacus. But if they would treat me as a gladiator, I would assume the role and return the insult.

The Egyptians had protested, but in this the Olympians and Asgardians prevailed, barreling forward and pressing allies to accede to this small scripted humiliation. Until our world assigned our Senate seat and gained voting rights, we were petitioners, and our place was in the pits of sand where the battle was joined.

A final humiliation. One I would be happy to repay.

We would join the Senate today, which was written and signed into law. What I did now was more showmanship than statesmanship. I would stand on the sands and elevate our candidate to Senator. And I took hidden delight in knowing the person being named would be known by those on Olympus that had over-played their hand and facilitated today's events.

Today I wore the [King's Regalia]. The first time I had worn it in almost twenty years. Not since the establishment of my Kingdom and the duel that had seen Mab dead, and Lugh and Puck fade into the Summerlands had I sported the symbols of my authority, an authority granted and recognized by System.

I was bereft of all other artifices, removing even the glamour that masked my face so that those who would humble me would be forced to endure and spend moment after moment defending and buttressing mental defenses against the powerful lure and charm the curse of beauty I had been gifted projected.

I thought about engaging [Flight] which I had finally mastered or [Fire Kinetic Blast] the spell I had created during my duel with Mab, that mixture of fire and ice that had been the killing blow. The arena was large enough that both were feasible. But when the gates opened, I decided against it. Instead, I walked, ignoring the crash of the gates closing behind me as I moved to stand in the exact center. I refused to be rushed, to allow that bit of psychological intimidation to bother me.

As the whispers of those from the stands watched my act of defiance, I concentrated my attention on the three Fates. Those women had more to do with manipulating the circumstance the Sidhe found themselves in than all other Gods combined. It was their vague prophecy of Ragnarok and the fall of the Gods that had relegated the Tuatha de Danaan to Sleep.

Atropos was the guiding force among the Fates, her domain dealt with snipping the threads of life, with endings. The tapestry that Clotho and Lachesis wove, the masterpiece, and guiding artifact that encompassed all life could only be completed when Atropos snipped that final thread.

They had taken up the domain of Fate, but they would have been more aptly named Remorseless. They acted with no compassion, the multitude of lives that flowed through their hands nothing but bits of weave and thread to flesh out the tapestry.

"I have studied the precepts of this Body Politic," I began addressing the assembly immediately, ending my measured walk at the exact center of the arena, maintaining my focus on the three Fates at the expense of everything else. "No other World that has ever been relegated to petitioner, had been forced to walk the sands of the arena once their acceptance into the Senate has been ratified.

"But we were.

"But then, the Sidhe and Talahm have never been treated like any other World," I said, not even trying to keep the sneer and disgust from my voice. "A prophecy, never tested, has been the guiding precepts and actions behind the barbarism and treatment that has been lodged against Talahm and her people.

"But we endured.

"But today marks the beginning of a new era, and instead of enmity, I come bearing gifts. Because we remember." I said.

The gates that had closed behind me, opened. A bit of theater to highlight for those watching the events being broadcast across the ether and to every planet that was a signatory and member of the Universal Senate. Gates that demonstrated that the Sidhe were minor players, at best, on the Universal stage, came crashing down as the rock that formed the portico that housed the gates were destroyed.

And as the rubble stilled and the cloud of dust and debris finally stabilized, the Slaugh entered.

The arena was open-air, the Sun from a world unfamiliar and a different wavelength than the Sidhe were familiar with became obscured as more and more Slaugh, some as large as a small town, began to patrol the skies. Blocking out the sun with their bodies as they displayed the nightmare of tentacles, teeth, and killing intent.

The Redcaps followed. The Goblins. The Selkie. The Kelpie. The Wisps. The Volar-fey. The Abhaic. The Cu-Sith. The Seelie. The Unseelie. And finally, Danu's newest children the Cernunnos.

Legion after legion of guards marched through those destroyed portcullises, fanning out to take up a position. Weapons drawn, killing intent aura's unleashed. The Olympians would use this stage to demonstrate my insignificance. I would return their slight and show the Universe that insignificance was relative.

Finally, once the legions of guards stood in rows fifty people deep, and every inch of the surrounding walls was under observation by the fierce countenance of those the Olympians and Asgardians had dismissed.

It was time to prove them wrong.

And it would start with a gift.

A measure of respect for our Olympian benefactors, those that had worked so hard to be impartial and fair. I had prepared a suitable gift to reward their steadfastness. It had taken years to prepare, but I was finally satisfied that I had something that the Olympians would appreciate. A gift that they would understand and the rest of the Universe would come to know to understand.

I would gift the Olympians for their insult, with proof. Proof of the perfidy and lengths of betrayal that august Pantheon of Gods would stoop towards.

My gift began simply enough. One person in chains.

Then Ten.

Then a Hundred

My gift filling the arena.

A Thousand. Two. Three. Five-thousand.

More and more, and all of those bound in chains of silver and become addicted to Elfshot. Their sanity and their will destroyed.

The murmurings began when people began identifying those that were chained. The murmuring swelled and became a clamoring when family members were identified among those chained. The clamoring finally erupting into shouts of censure, demands for explanations, and threats of retribution.

Five-thousand four-hundred souls. Chained. Their will was destroyed by the very Elfshot substance they had manufactured. The poison they had manufactured used against those who were chained.

Pawns of Olympus.

People who had used illusion and artifacts of power to kidnap and change shape. Assuming the lives of the people of Talahm.

It had taken years of a concerted effort on the part of all three factions to scour the planet for every last vestige of infiltration and rip the veil of pretension from the faces that Olympus had sent to destroy our planet. Even now, three decades later, I wasn't sure we had found them all.

The few that might have escaped our scrutiny no longer mattered.

"Olympus sent a gift to our world," I said using illusion and glamour to project my voice so that all could hear. I refused to rely on the Senate's goodwill not to stop broadcasting my speech and had Duchess Wynne infiltrate systems to make sure there was no interruption. "People equipped with illusion and poison. People well versed in the history and lives of our world. People that would use illusion to take the shape and form of our people. To suborn and infiltrate our government. To kill and destroy our people.

"And why?" I asked voice thundering.

"To steal the secrets of the God Particle from an unstable dungeon in order to advance their insanity. They attempted to de-stabilize System, using the knowledge they gained from this dungeon to infiltrate and create corruption in System itself.

"Again, why?

"To gain dominion over the Summerlands. To steal the immortality and legacy of the Sidhe.

"As we take our seat and become full voting members of this Senate, we return the gifts the Olympians have shared with us, as well as a document that is being distributed to all members. Documents that prove the extent the Olympians would take in their attempts to steal what is rightfully ours. These documents are proof of the machinations of our esteemed hosts.

"We thank you for your care," I said, no longer hiding my contempt as my eyes continued to clash with Atropos, "but we return to you the gift of subterfuge, and include our own gift of true-sight. Let the hidden be revealed, and that which has been nothing but whispers in the halls of power of this Senate be exposed for all to see."

My final pronouncement was met with action. As the chains of silver that had bound those prisoners, chains that were keyed to my magics were struck with my final words. And as I struck those chains, more than 5,000 heads were severed from the bodies of those that tested the waters of Sidhe resolve.

I would return death and destruction in kind.