Chapter 14-388: A Change of the Season (1/2)

“Monarch Traveler Morningdark of The Jet and Silver, may I introduce to you Queen Sylvestris of the Faerie Courts,” Queen Huellia spoke up softly after taking a step forward, while the raven-winged figure fallen from the sky staggered to his feet after a 25d6 power-dive into the steely ice. “And her Consort, Hrafn Hjaldrim...” she added with remarkable composure.

Just the slightest rippling, for the elven queen had not introduced them as of Summer. Furthermore, she had introduced the Fey queen and her Warlord to me, not vice versa.

I hovered there calmly for a long moment, while the erlking I’d yanked down out of the sky and stripped of flight healed up painfully and regained some composure.

“Are you still going to conceal yourselves and your intent before me?” I asked them all, my Voice sweeping out over them, cool as the grey clouds overhead.

The hamadryad remained unperturbed, and the erlking only looked annoyed at my effrontery. “Lady Traveler, your reputation proceeds you. We apologize for the wariness of our Consort, but given your power, he thought some caution was warranted,” Queen Sylvestris smiled at me gently, looking for understanding.

There was no warning, the Silver Magic simply erupted. It took literally an eyeblink.

It smashed across them like shooting stars, and it ripped away all the pretenses.

Colors of green and gold blew away into reds, oranges, and yellows, also removing their layers of subtle Buffs and Glamours. Behind them, the passage the hamadryad had cleared through the forest literally slammed shut in an instant as the Dispelling tore the magic apart and reversed what she had done. Her honor guard had to shout and scramble awkwardly, breaking their formation, as the trees swept back in and shoved them out of the way.

“Lady Freyalise Sylvestris of Autumn,” I said through clenched teeth. “I am a great admirer of your efforts to set up a Portal Realm to Faerie upon this World.

“I laud your exquisite use of deceit, glamour, insinuation, charm, diplomacy, and illusion to beguile these hapless and inexperienced elves into allowing you to form this realm from the heart of their own.

“I stand in awe of the Grand Conjugation Formation you are erecting under their very noses to steal their lands away and make them your own.

“Well done. I say again, Well Done!”

Nobody believed a single damn word I said, as I was a horribly inept liar, knowing TRUTH as I did. Hundreds of tree limbs shattered all around as they froze explosively solid at my finish, and the Hum in the air if you were a Caster was deafening.

“Does this Autumn Queen have anything she wishes to say to me on her magnificent accomplishments?!” I went on, as carbon dioxide congealed out of the air around me, and liquid nitrogen dripped out of nowhere and hissed into mist on the black ice.

All of the Fey looked somewhat off-put at the moment, rather like a thousand frozen swords were hovering over each and every one of them. Even the raven-winged erlking was blanching, and very, very carefully keeping his taloned hands away from his weapons.

The hamadryad was clearly on her back foot. I had blown through her careful illusions and multi-layered deceptions effortlessly, with a spell that I had Cast with literally a thought. Her green gown was gone, replaced by a more martial warrior’s skirt, complete with bow and arrows hanging in a quiver behind her. Her golden hair was now flaming red, the color of Autumn, the Season of War among the Fey, and her once-emerald eyes were now yellow in contrast.

“Thank you for your compliments, Lady Traveler,” the revealed warrior queen bowed carefully. “It is good to see one’s efforts appreciated.”

“Indeed.” Meter-long icicles stabbed up out of the lake in all directions with a sound like shrieking steel, and the Fey all jumped at the glistening array of spears suddenly there in all directions. “However, I am personally affronted by your attempt to deceive me, after I specifically gave you the opportunity not to do so.”

Their faces all went unsightly, because they absolutely believed me now.

“I apologize for my rashness, Lady Morningdark,” she bowed quickly.

“Rashness,” I echoed, and for a second a million frozen lines of mana were visible in the air around everyone, thrumming readily. “An excellent word. I, too, am being rash. If I blink, you will all die forever. I apologize if that happens; I am trying very hard not to blink.”

Their masks slipped just a little bit. They believed me this time, too.

It also blatantly displayed that apologies did absolutely nothing for this situation. Even her links to the forest about had been frozen, effectively cutting her off from the Influence she had been building in the forests here... an Influence the elves here could abruptly feel very keenly, indeed.

This was no longer just their land. No, it was no longer their land at all...

“I confess to being impetuous, temperamental, and overly emotional.” Nobody believed me. “When I see Grand Formations like this, I have this massive urge to utterly obliterate them and the immortal entities that form them. I believe I will have to ask your forgiveness in advance on this matter, too.”

All the Fey shivered. If I wanted to, that meant killing all of them here and now. Their desires in this matter were not important, only My Will was.

That was how the Fey ruled, with killing power inside silken words. Forgive me for killing you, I will just blink now.

Their deaths were worth an eyeblink. Even if you didn’t fear death, that was daunting... but vivic flame was here.

Vivic flame would eat the entirety of the power they’d grown into away and feed it to the Land, reducing them to lower Fey when they reincarnated, with no memory of their past, as if they were newly born.

And that was only if it didn’t tear them out of the Fey loop entirely and send them into the life cycle of a mortal!

“As Your Ladyship wills, we can disassemble the Formation quickly,” Freyalise said from her knees, her head bowed.

“You seek to take my fun, knowing that doing so will not inhibit the hold you have gained over this realm already.” I tilted my head as rains of black and silver icicles slammed down everywhere, sticking into the ground. “Your guile is truly charming, Queen Sylvestris.”