Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 97: Through the Portal - Part 1

I decided to camp for the night and make a fresh start in the morning. I wanted to examine the properties of the Silinium. I had a bare-bones idea of a plan but gaining as much information about the properties of the metal was absolute for my plan to work.

If the CERN dungeon really was a portal to Earth, and Sidhe magic worked there, which was obvious since the Knockers were able to stay hidden and infiltrate CERN, then I planned to use the unique capabilities of the Silinium to program a solution into the metal's matrix.

The information we had unearthed needed to be processed and shared with both Duke A'Daoine and the Monarchs. There was no question that I would act. The quest from System was a foreshadow of potential developments if I didn't. Plus, I was invested and had a history with Earth. If someone else were to attempt to alter or change the direction of Earth's development, I feared for the outcome.

The Sidhe were too entitled and certain of their superiority to trust, they would be more inclined to make servants or serfs of the world's population, sublimating the Olympians' plans and making them their own.

The problem with that was that a war would unfold that could lead to both planets' destruction. Earth and its people were well versed in weaponry and had battalions of iron and steel that could offset the magics that Seelie could unleash. Sidhe arrogance and Earth iron may lead to a battle of extermination that ravaged both planets, now that it was possible for Earthlings to escape the confines of the dungeon.

The Sidhe in their zeal to protect Talahm might make sacrifices, attempt conquest that would trigger the destruction of two worlds. I'd shared my System quest notification at the end of the meeting so that Nelson would inform his superiors of that development. I was hoping the System quest might trump whatever politics may come into play.

Things would get bad enough, I was afraid. when the Unseelie learned of this development. I wasn't certain what would happen when the Unseelie found out what had been transpiring here, and the actions of Seelie opportunists to control and harness the God particles would only exacerbate that problem.

It was possible that war was inevitable. That Unseelie would march on Seelie in fury once they understood the circumstance behind the System vagaries and Outer-world manipulation. The dark court was ill-suited to consider the ramifications when they felt their prerogatives had been abrogated.

And this treachery by the Sidhe would need to be addressed. My quest gave me the opportunity to save both worlds, but that didn't mean the fallout of what we had discovered here wouldn't have far-reaching consequences.

I would act no matter the outcome. But I was amenable to testing the intellect and wisdom of those who would rule.

It didn't take long to confirm my belief that those in power did not always act in the best interest of those they governed. Sadly, the Powers were more interested in harnessing the God Particle then acceding to System quests.

King Lugh with Queen Mab and Prince Consort Pucks agreement chose to pilfer the research and findings that Duchess Wynne had garnered. They also wanted their own pair of Doctors to try to emulate and replicate Wi-Fi technology and the Hadron Collider and began devising plans to kidnap their own set of experts.

Greed was Universal. And these royals had not been bound by expediency or compassion in eons. There was no longer anyone that could truly deny them anything they desired. And they desired to ascend. To become Gods and re-vitalize the Sidhe pantheon.

After listening to Lord Nelson outline the plans and orders King Lugh had instructed, blatantly ignoring the dangers of a God Particle rupture and explosion that may destroy two planets, I disconnected from the conference meeting in disgust.

I didn't have much time to act. Lord Blayney had been instructed to send a Kelpie upstream with some array Grandmasters as quickly as possible to create a temporary teleportation crystal array. Long-term plans included constructing a dock for barges, a mining consortium, and researchers to be placed on site.

Whatever action I intended to take, it needed to occur before that Kelpie arrived with the Grandmaster. Motioning for Cedric to follow me, I headed back into the cave system, striding purposively towards the dungeon entrance.

"Your Highness?" Cedric said in confusion when I'd stopped at the boundary that would allow me entrance to the dungeon.

"Sometimes people can surprise you. They have the ability to rise above pettiness, profit, and greed. They occasionally act in good faith and for the betterment of society. Mostly, they act when those actions benefit themselves," I said sighing in resignation.

"Cedric, I have a plan. But to succeed I need your help, and I need you to trust me."

"Of course, Your Highness, what do you need me to do?" He said.

"First, we need to gather Silinium seed stock. As much as we can safely harvest without disrupting or damaging the nodes.

"Once that is done, I am going to enter the Dungeon and complete this quest. I can't be worried about who may be following me, or my actions causing a breach that destroys Talahm. Once I enter the Dungeon, I want you to activate the destruction array embedded in the area surrounding the Dungeon portal and close this opening."

"Your Highness!" Cedric cried in confusion. "If I do that, you'll be trapped. Duchess Wynne and her people will be trapped. And there is no guarantee that closing the portal will stave off the destruction System warned about. If what you have planned fails, we would have no warning."

"The Duchess, her people, and I won't be trapped," I said emphatically. "Did you forget that one of my abilities as Prince of the Seelie and Unseelie is the ability to open a portal to the Summerlands?"

"With the Dungeon closed and egress denied to anyone from this side. I can act. Once the quest is completed, I will open a portal to the Summerlands. It is only a matter of seconds to open a second portal to Talahm once we've arrived there.

"I'm not sure where we'll arrive on Talahm since our beginning destination is Earth, but I have the spell Portal Talahm so I am confident we will arrive."