Apocalypse Dawn: The New World - Chapter 2

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Author's Note:Here's chapter 2 of book two of Apocalypse Dawn. I hope you all enjoy. ~Amethyst.

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Chapter 2: Lost Girls.

I winced in sympathy for Hawkin as I visually confirmed my fears. Yup he, or rather she was definitely a girl unicorn. I quickly turned to my Guardian and asked, “How long do you think she’ll be out? Does it take long to get used to the new body? What about species dysphoria?”

Lissany looked up from her own assessment of Hawkin to shrug. ‘I dunno, Taelya, I’ve never seen it in real life before so it could be a few minutes or a few hours before she’s up. As for the dysphoria, I’m not the best person to answer that question. I barely felt any discomfort with my body because I was finally in the right gender and Beastkin are still mostly Human. Kinara told me that the main reason for the dysphoria for players was that their virtual bodies were so different than their real-world bodies and self-identities.”

I sighed but nodded. “Yeah, Mahair told me something similar. My dysphoria didn’t disappear until my real body was fully transformed and the dreams and stuff made me really start identifying as Taelya, not just a guy playing a character. We should probably be prepared for the worst though, he looked pretty horrified when I briefly changed him into a girl before.”

“She shouldn’t feel any species issues, at least not physically,” Lissany said thoughtfully, her tail swishing behind her. “The Call is actually supposed to make a Beastkin feel complete, like becoming who they were meant to be all along. She might feel fine physically, and just need to mentally get used to the idea of what she is now.”

“He did mention having body image issues before joining the game, Mistress,” Daenyss pointed out.

“I doubt he harbored a secret desire to be female though, judging from his reaction when I used my transfiguration spell on him,” I replied in concern as I looked over the unconscious now-unicorn in concern.

I really wished that I had a watch or the game clock still as we sat there and waited for Hawkin to wake up. I had no idea how long we were out there by the time she finally began to stir. I knelt to be closer to where she was laying on the ground as her eyes fluttered open, just far enough away to be out of danger if she started thrashing in panic. “Hawkin… Ken…you’re all changed now but I need you to think about becoming human again,” I told her as calmly as I could manage.

Her equine head tilted in what I assumed was a nod and then her features began to shift and flow as she shifted into a human form. As she got shakily to her feet I couldn’t help but notice that that form was a female one. Even if her clothes hadn’t been destroyed by her first transformation to her full animal form, her new gender would have been hard to miss.

She was like some sort of Beastkin fashion model. She was as tall as I was, not counting the golden horn still protruding from her forehead, and she was very slender with long legs, a slim waist, and breasts that couldn’t have been more than an A cup. She was almost delicate looking at first glance until one noticed the hard-toned muscles beneath her soft, pale white skin.

She had a very pretty face too though I couldn’t see any of the old Ken Hawkins in it; bright piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones, a delicate nose, and full pouty lips. She of course had horse-like ears atop her head, a bit behind and to either side of her horn, and her hair was long and white and seemed to be a natural mohawk, though with no hair product to hold it in place it just draped over the right side of her head. A long matching equine tail swished behind her. She was going to be a heartbreaker, I just hoped that she wouldn’t be too heartbroken by her new form.

“This feels weird,” Hawkin drawled before slapping a mouth over her mouth in shock. Then, hesitantly, she spoke again. “Was that my voice? It sounds weird, I…” Her hands cautiously caressed her face then patted their way downward until she paused to stare down in confusion as they reached her chest. Her breasts may have been smallish, but they were still noticeable on that slender frame. “I… I’m a chick?”

I nodded but it was Lissany who stepped up to explain. “I’m not sure why but the animal that called to you was female. So yeah, you’re a girl now but you’re a freaking unicorn! That is so badass and cute at the same time. Look… if you need any help dealing with the dysphoria… Her Majesty has been through it and so have Daenyss and me.”

“It… feels different,” the newly minted Beastkin said uncertainly after a moment of silence. “It doesn’t feel horrible and alien-like when Taelya transformed me. I mean… in my head I’m freaking out because I’m a chick and I have no idea how to be one or what to expect but… at the same time… I feel comfortable in my own skin for the first time in my life.”

Daenyss smiled at Hawkin and gently took her hand. “I know all about fashion and makeup and a lot of the really feminine things since I’m Mistress’s Attendant so I can teach you if you decide to learn that stuff. Other than social expectations and some biological differences, I don’t think there’s all that much difference between the genders though, especially among the Fae. Just figure out the person that you want to be, do what makes you happy, and don’t be afraid to explore new things and be yourself.”

“It worked for Daenyss,” I agreed as I smiled at my Attendant.

“I… I was an asshole to all of you and I never really apologized for that so I…” Hawkin started to say.

Nishalle quickly cut him off, rolling her eyes. “Please, let’s not make this into some fucking after-school special. We need to get back and you need to decide on a new name. I am not calling someone who looks like you Ken or Hawkin.”

“Wait! What do I look like?” the horned Beastkin asked nervously. Rather than explain that she looked part punk rock goddess and part runway model Daenyss summoned a mirror for her and with the light that I was giving off it was enough for her to get a good look at herself. “Whoa… that’s me?”

“Duh, that’s a mirror, it’s showing your reflection,” Lissany teased. “You look hot, you could really rock some piercings and they wouldn’t take more than a day or two to heal up with the accelerated healing. You should be pretty strong now too.”

“Ummm… I think I want to get used to this before I start making any other big changes to how I look,” Hawkin stated nervously as she handed the mirror back to Daenyss and looked down at herself. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

Hawkin seemed a bit uncomfortable as Daenyss sent her mirror back to her storage chest, despite what she had said about being comfortable in her skin but from the way she was trying to cover herself, I figured that was because she was naked. Her mind after all was Human and they’re uncomfortable with being naked in front of others. “Let’s get you something to wear,” I told her, trying to be reassuring.

I used the mark on my arm to change from my Lindwyrm-hide armor and back into the clothes I had been given when I left the game. Then, without a second thought, I removed the crimson satin dress and slippers and handed them to her to put on. I didn’t think that she would have been comfortable borrowing my underwear but she was my height and looked close to my size so the dress would preserve her modesty as the slippers protected her feet. A moment later I was back in my armor with my weapons at hand in case we needed to defend ourselves.

With that done, we started walking back in the direction that we had come from. I know that I could have teleported us all back but I had a lot on my mind and I was worried about carelessly using my magick before I could learn to properly control it again. My companions didn’t comment about us taking the long way, though I did catch the occasional concerned glances. Daenyss, Lissany, and Nishalle had all been there when my last attempt at magick had destroyed my Nature’s Crown and my focus.

Finally, Nishalle came and put her arm around me as we walked. “C’mon, Sis, stop worrying so much. Lissany and I can keep you and the others safe and you still have your swords and guns if there is trouble. As soon as we get back we can talk to Mahair about making you a new spell focus before we head into the city. You’ll be using magick again in no time.”

So they thought that I was depressed because I couldn’t use magick? Well, I guess that made sense since normal Magi need a focus to help them gather, control, and focus mana. It could be done without a focus but it usually caused massive migraines or other strain to the body so most people wouldn’t risk it. From what Danu told me earlier though I guessed that it didn’t apply to Demigods.

I tried to give my sister a convincing smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I don’t like not being able to use my magick, and I have a lot on my mind with everything that’s happened and everything I’ve learned since we got out of the game.”

At Nishalle’s insistence, probably to get my mind off other things, we all started to contribute new name suggestions for ‘She-Hawkin’, as my Tokh'dhraí sister oh-so-delicately referred to her. Hawkin agreed to listen to suggestions so long as Nishalle never called her that again. We had been at it for a little while and since Hawkin hadn’t liked any of the earlier suggestions the others had started coming up with silly ones, especially Nishalle and Lissany.

“How about Rarity? I mean you’re a Unicorn and all, and you’d kinda look like her if your hair and tail were purple instead of white. How do you feel about a dye job and getting a tattoo on your butt?” Lissany asked thoughtfully, though I could see her teasing smirk and her feline nose twitching in amusement. “Firefly kicks flank so I could see you as her, but she’s a Pegasus, not a Unicorn.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lissany,” Hawkin said, letting out a sigh. Then she narrowed her eyes at my giggling Guardian. “That’s from a cartoon, isn’t it?”

Lissany pretended to be insulted and sniffed indignantly. “Animated series. And not just any animated series, the best one... well for our purposes anyway.”

“It’s that pony cartoon, isn’t it? I am not naming myself after a cartoon character, so you can forget that right now,” Hawkin grumbled.

“How about Kendra?” I said, offering my first suggestion since the whole affair had begun. “It’s not that different than your original male name so it should be easy to respond to. Or maybe Harley? They both sound feminine but tough too, which suits your new look.”

The Unicorn Beastkin gave me a thoughtful look before nodding. “I think that I could live with one of those. It’s much better than Candy,” she said with a glare toward Nishalle.

“You know, ‘Harley Kendra Hawkins’ does have a nice ring to it,” Daenyss admitted.

The subject of the naming session smiled for the first time since she awoke. “Yeah, I think I like that.”

“Shhhh! I see something moving out there, it’s coming this way,” Nishalle whispered as she crouched down, her eyes locked on the forest ahead of us. After a moment I could see it too, a flash of white in the darkness, then another one, soon accompanied by the sounds of large animals moving through the forest. With the moon out from behind the clouds we would be able to better see what was approaching and I felt stronger and reassured somehow with its light shining down on me.

As we crouched there and watched the white forms become ever larger as they bounded through the trees I wondered how long the moonlight would last. The moon had been in the sky since we got here, though it was occasionally blocked out by cloud cover. As far north as we were though, we could get a week or more with it up there in the sky the whole time, but I also knew that we could go periods just as long where it only appeared part of the day and some when it wouldn’t appear at all. During those long dark days, Varüus’kiel was going to feel very spooky with only me, some Wisps, and other magical forms of illumination.

Not that it wasn’t spooky crouching in the forest and watching as that massive Dire Wolf come into view. Really, we weren’t even hiding since both Willow and I were giving off too much light for that, though willow made a solid effort as she scurried into my hood to hide amongst my braids. Fortunately, the Dire Wolf was Yuki, followed by Ghost with Tsukiko and Kinara riding on their backs. We quickly stood up so the pair could see us since I had to assume that they’d been tracking us. Once they were within speaking distance I approached to give Ghost a loving caress as I asked Kinara, “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, Taelya,” the pink-haired Yseil'dhraí began as Kimmie glided from above to settle on her shoulder. “I know that you said that only Fae were to come into the woods but I thought that we could track you and get here faster with Yuki’s help. Suki said that Yuki had your scent and riding her and Ghost got us here so much faster than using a spell to track you. I would have teleported to you but I didn’t know what to expect in these woods and I know how much Ghost hates teleporting.”

“It’s alright Kinara, Suki was with you and I think that you were both as safe as anyone could be in this forest while you had Yuki and Ghost with you,” I assured my apprentice before gesturing to Hawkin, or rather Harley. “We were just on our way back.”

“Whoa! Bloody hell! Who is that and what happened to Hawkin?!” Kinara sputtered as she and Tsukiko both stared unabashedly at the newly minted Beastkin woman.

Harley’s face was bright red and she was looking at her feet under the pair of stares. ‘Umm… I’m Hawkin… or I was. You can call me Harley now, I guess.”

“Whoa, that’s gonna take some getting used to,” Kinara said, shaking her head in bewilderment.

“That’s what I said,” Harley grumbled self-consciously.

“Umm… Your… uhh… Majesty? If you were on your way back, why didn’t you just use a teleportation spell? Kinara was telling me that you were the best and most powerful Magus on your server,” Tsukiko inquired hesitantly.

“Whatever Danu did last night powered her up big time and her spell focus kinda exploded earlier today,” Lissany answered before I could.

“I was wondering why you weren’t wearing it earlier,” Kinara said with a wince of sympathy. “I guess it’s a good thing that I decided to track you down then. Dad sent a Fairy back to camp with word that there was something that you really need to see.”

Since I wanted to move quickly to see whatever Maekin had found while pursuing the three assholes who had attacked Hawkin and taken his stuff I taught Kinara a new portal spell that I’d been working on. There weren’t enough mounts for all of us, even if Harley had changed forms and I didn’t want to ask that of her regardless since she was still tired from her recent transformation. Once Kinara had the spell down and had cast the portal to her father’s location we all stepped through, though Tsukiko and I had to gently coax Yuki and ghost through and our Wisps remained hidden in Kinara’s and my hoods, where they settled in for a nap.

Maekin and those with him knelt and bowed their heads as we stepped through the portal. “Your Majesty,” Kinara’s father reported, “We think we found them, or what was left of them. It’s not a pretty sight, there is not even enough left to try to resurrect them, but that is not what I wanted you to see.”

He and his search group led us safely through some thorny brush to a ledge overlooking a valley with a small river running through it that I thought might connect to Lake Danu. That was not what immediately caught my attention though. No, my eyes were locked on the tower of metal rising high into the sky and reflecting the moonlight. It was huge but with all of the imperfections and lumps and strange branches off the main tower, it didn’t look like it was created artificially. Was it some kind of strange natural phenomenon? This was a magical island so anything could be possible.

“What is that?” Harley, Tsukiko, and Daenyss all asked as one in whispered wonder.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out. Let’s go down for a closer look,” I replied before turning toward Maekin, “Did you find a safe path down into the valley, or are we going to have to get creative?”

“We’ve got a way down, and the path should be wide enough for Ghost and that Dire Wolf to travel safely enough,” Maekin assured me.

With Lissany and Maekin taking the lead, we made our way cautiously down the path that the search group had found. Since neither of them had good night vision, Tsukiko and Harley stayed close to me for the natural (or maybe supernatural) light that my hair was exuding. The closer that we got to the valley floor, the more we encountered huge chunks of metal that looked like they had just been haphazardly tossed aside and smooth patches of it on the ground that looked like it had just melted in place.

Near the valley floor, we stopped to examine one of the larger chunks we had seen. It was the size of a school bus and seemed to be some sort of silvery-blue metal that was smooth and cool to the touch. Kinara’s father gasped as he ran his hands over it. “I think this is Nythrin .”

“Huh?” Nishalle eloquently inquired.

At the looks of confusion from the rest of us, Maekin sighed and said, “I keep forgetting that some of you weren’t born and raised Fae. Nythrin was a metal that was said to only be found here on Varüus’kiel, the stories say that it was lightweight and stronger than any other metal we have found in the wider world. There is a legend that when we Fae followed the Four out into the larger world to bring balance, that the Great Mother gifted each of her four daughters with a ring made from the metal by the Sül’shael so that they could always have a piece of home with them wherever they went. Each of the Four was entombed with their ring when they died.”

“Sül’shael?” I asked, latching onto the word. “I’ve never heard of star maidens before.”

“The Great Mother supposedly named them for the heat and brightness of their fire and how they look flying high above in the night sky. As I said though, it’s a legend and since there’s nobody around who was alive back then to verify or make sense of it we should probably take it with a grain of salt,” Maekin said with a shrug. “Maybe this metal could be useful though, even if it’s not legendary. We wouldn’t even have to mine it with this much just laying around.”

That wasn’t necessarily true, I did know of one ‘person’ who was around back then. ~Great Mother, what is this stuff?~ I asked, hoping that she wasn’t busy and felt like giving me a straight answer.

~It’s Nythrin, of course, just like Maekin told you, child. You saw the great tree right?~ the Goddess asked with a knowing laugh.

~Tree? I just saw that massive metal tower thing,~ I replied in confusion.

~It is not just a big hunk of metal, dear daughter. It is alive in a way, an organic crystalline plant with metallic properties. The heat from the caldera and the plentiful mana on the island nourishes it. Pieces of it of course die and become inert metal when removed from the main tree but it’s a useful and valuable metal at the very least. It’s very light, stronger than the strongest steel, and has a melting point so high that only the Sül’shael, or one such as you or I could summon a flame hot enough to work with it.~

~Wait, so the Sül’shael are real?~ I asked.

~Yes, but their duties were to the Nythrin tree and not the outside world so they stayed behind when I sent my first four daughters and their Courts into the outside world. They never joined the Councils because they are not bound to any of the Courts and what happens in the outside world was not their affair. You should be meeting the girls soon. Give them my love and tell them that you are the moon-child, they’ll know what it means. I would come myself but I am due to meet Inari, Mórrígan, and Cerridwen for a planning session.~ I felt her wrap me up in a mental embrace and then her presence left my mind.

We were making our way toward the Nythrin tree when we saw what looked like a gathering of metal cottages. These weren’t roughly hewn metal slabs just thrown together though, each one was an indescribable work of art that took my breath away, it was like walking through a fairy tale. We eventually found ourselves in a village square of sorts that was well lit by the moonlight, where close to a thousand naked Fae women were gathered.

We were behind most of them, while the one that they were all facing seemed to be chanting some sort of prayer to Danu over three others. If the one praying was any indication, they resembled bald nymphs with dusky-rose skin though I could barely make out that much with only moonlight and my night vision to work with. I looked up as the one in front finished her prayer to Danu and opened her clasped hands before kneeling and doing something with each of the three kneeling women.

After a moment, she stood again and looked over the three, saying in Elvish. “Thank you for your seeds and for taking on the honors and responsibilities of being a mother. The seeds have taken root and in time our sisters will be born again. Thank you, Great Mother, for hearing our prayers.” And that was when she saw us standing at the edge of the square, not that it could be avoided with me glowing like I was.

“Great Mother!” she shrieked in delight as soon as she caught sight of me. White-hot flames erupted from the top of her head and her back, those from her back taking the shape of butterfly wings as she flew toward us squealing excitedly. All of the gathered Sül’shael turned as one, their erupting flames lighting up the entire square as the night air was filled with enthusiastic cries of excitement. Surprisingly the Priestess reached us first covering the distance in record time to excitedly bounce from one foot to the other in front of me.

Lissany and Nishalle had formed ranks around me and Ghost reared, not sure if I needed protecting or not, and everyone else was trying to keep far enough away from the intense heat of the flames from the gathering crowd of excitable Sül’shael. “It’s okay girls, they aren’t going to hurt me, at least that’s not their intent,” I tried to reassure my confused protectors as I slid gracefully from Ghost’s back and placed a hand on her head to calm her before stepping forward. I was very glad that I was wearing Lindwyrm hide to protect me from the flames, though they didn’t seem to bother me, they were actually pleasantly warm.

Nishalle and Lissany reluctantly stepped back and the Priestess, realizing that she had spooked us, managed to calm herself down and make the flames vanish. “Great Mother, it’s so good to see you again, I…” she started to say in Elvish before tilting her head and looking at me critically, “Wait, you’re not the Goddess. You look a little like Her, you have Her hair and eyes, but you’re not Her. You look like one of the Yseil’dhraí, like that pink-haired girl, but I don’t remember any of them having those colors in the stories She told us.”

The other Sül’shael were mostly adults but there were a couple of teens and some children amongst them as well. They were all peering at me in interest and looked a little unsure what was going on as I cleared my throat and tried to smile at them as I spoke. “No, I’m not the Great Mother, but She sends Her love and said that I should tell you that I’m the moon-child.”

There was a collective gasp as the Priestess beamed at me. “She told us stories about you! She said that if everything went well that you would come here to Varüus’kiel and be our Empress! I’m Xixie!”

“What’s an empress?” one asked. “We’ve never had one of those before.”

“Do you not remember Risha? The Great Mother said that it’s like Her. That she will be like a mother for all of us, and all those Court Fae, except she will be here a lot more,” another pointed out.

“She looks like the Great Mother and we are supposed to treat her like Her, but she’s not Her, does that mean she’s a little mother?” yet another said thoughtfully.

“Can we call you Inu’Mahair ?” a chorus of voices asked at once causing Nishalle to unsuccessfully cover a laugh with her hand.

Poor Harley, who had never taken the Elvish language was lost and asked Lissany, “What’s going on? What’s an Inoo mahaiyir?”

“Taelya introduced herself and it looks like they want to call her ‘Little Mother’,” my Guardian informed her fellow Beastkin.

Xixie was looking over my companions now. She seemed to recognize the types of Fae but Harley, Lissany, and Tsukiko seemed to draw her attention. She leaned in close and whispered, “What are they, Inu’Mahair?”

I sighed as I realized I was likely never going to get them to stop calling me that now. Still, I pointed to each of my ‘interesting’ companions in turn and explained. “Those two are Beastkin, and Tsukiko over there is a Witch.”

“Inu’Mahair, why is the Witch riding a big fluffy?” Xixie asked, casting a cautious glance to where Tsukiko sat atop Yuki. “Big fluffies ate the creatures we saw coming to the valley earlier, I think they might have been Witches too. They had round ears like hers but they had lighter skin, were bigger, and they were male like him,” she whispered again, pointing a thumb toward Maekin.

“No those were Humans, Witches can use magick and Humans can’t. The big fluff… err Yuki there is Tsukiko’s familiar and helps her use magick,” I explained before asking, “You saw what happened to the Humans?”

“Yes, Inu’Mahair, they were coming into the Valley and ran right into the big fluffies. Then it was chomp chomp and they were screaming and then when the big fluffies left, their life-sparks were just floating around so I snatched them up and we just finished the ritual to resurrect them.” Xixie’s hands flailed wildly as she excitedly explained without stopping for air.

“Wait, you’re resurrecting them? Don’t you kinda need their bodies for that?” Kinara asked.

A confused expression covered Xixie’s face. “No, why would we? When one of our people dies a Priestess just takes their life-spark and then we stuff it in one of our seeds so it will take root in the seed carrier’s body. Then they can be born again to live new lives once they are ready and their new bodies have grown within their new mothers. The Hoomans’ life-sparks were not that different from ours, they were not animals or anything so I thought that the ritual would work and we can get three new children for the village.”

“Well, that should keep them out of trouble, for about nine months or so,” I muttered to myself before asking, “Will they remember anything of their past lives?”

Xixie quickly shook her head. “No, Inu’Mahair, we never remember anything from our before lives. We have to be taught everything all over again by our mothers.”

I talked with Xixie for a while, getting to know more about the Sül’shael. From what I figured they were an offshoot of the Moss Maidens, or vice versa. Both the Liyun'shael and the Sül’shael reproduced by seeds and each only had three to give their whole lives. But while the Moss Maidens placed those seeds inside another sentient being to change their bodies to that of one of their kind, the Star Maidens bound souls to one of those seeds to activate them and then carried the growing children to term to give birth like other Fae. I wondered if they could do both do it the other way around too and just hadn’t thought of the possibility.

There were several differences between the two species though. The Liyun’shael were designed to tend to the forests and blend into the background and hide. The Sül’shael, on the other hand, were designed to create and manipulate intense flames. They were tied intrinsically to Nythrin and could manipulate it with ease in its molten form. Their fiery wings and magick also allowed them to fly to get up to the top of the Nythrin tree to prune it and they were damn near as strong as Lissany, as I discovered when one of the children excitedly came up and gave me a bone-creaking hug. Fortunately, she had enough self-control to not have her head and wings ignited at the time.

During our talk, I also discovered that the Sül’shael were culturally a lot like other Fae, despite the separation when the others went to the outside world to do their duties. Some of that was because the Fae as a whole had gotten past the whole mating dances and primal urges thing, formed cultural beliefs, and developed their magicks and language before leaving Varüus’kiel. There wasn’t really much difference between the different Courts that had developed in that time either, except for their approach to their duties and general attitude toward Humans.

Danu had guided the early Fae a lot and when they had left Varüus’kiel and She had continued to do so through the Queens, as much as Her daughters each had their own way of doing things. It would seem that She had continued to take a more personal hand with the Sül’shael by visiting and telling them stories to guide them. This was Her domain after all and the Fae were all considered Her children since, even though only the Yseil’dhraí were made with Her blood, we were all created by Her magick.

So, culturally speaking, the Sül’shael were very much like other Fae. They loved sex and many were eyeing Maekin in keen interest, wondering what it would be like with a male. I was beginning to wonder whether sex was one of Danu’s aspects as well as those that I already knew about. I mean, She is a Mother Goddess, and like they say, getting there is half the fun.

They also believed firmly in self-control and ignoring the urges of one’s body until one was an adult, not only to because mental discipline was as important to them as it was to other Fae, but also because if they didn’t learn that self-control then they could burn down half the forests on Varüus’kiel. Just as the Moss Maidens were connected deeply to the earth element, their cousins were connected to fire. Their fire magicks were powerful and their duty was to prune the Nythrin tree once a year so it would not become too heavy and collapse and uproot itself due to its weight.

“Once a year?” I asked. “What do you do the rest of the time that you’re not doing what you need to survive?”

“Mostly we get to know one another better…some of us know each other sooo well. Sometimes we collect sparklies from the river to make pretty things. We like to make pretty things.” Xixie wore a pensive look as she spoke before the bright orange eyes focused on me once again. Then she proudly displayed the multitude of beautifully crafted earrings and bracelets she was wearing and the delicate pendant with tiny rubies that hung just above and between her bare breasts. “You need some pretty things Inu’Mahair. What kind of pretties do you like? We will make you some!”

“Well, since she’s an Empress she should have a really nice crown,” Nishalle jumped in with a teasing grin. “And you could make her all sorts of pretties to go with it.”

“She could really use some new earrings too,” Daenyss put in thoughtfully. “Gold isn’t really her color anymore. Silver or that Nythrin stuff would go much better with her complexion and her hair and eye colors.”

Apparently, I had no say in the matter because Xixie and Daenyss then started an animated conversation about what would look good on me and be suitable for one of my status as the Sül’shael invited us to share their evening meal. There were some white berries that they called nightberries, some kind of tubers and truffles, fish from the river, and some cooked meat that tasted like venison. That was when Harley discovered, much to her dismay, that she seemed to be a vegetarian now.

Dinner went by with every Sül’shael in sight trying to get to know me and my companions better, though they were particularly interested in me. I managed to explain what was going on with the Fae and other non-humans coming to live on Varüus’kiel, where we were camped at the moment, and the plan going forward. Our hosts knew about the lake and ‘meadow’ and seemed interested in meeting their long-separated cousins.

Since their Goddess-given-duties only needed to be done annually they decided to come and join us, so they could be closer to their new Inu’Mahair and get to know some of the other Fae and other Races better. They could also help with foraging until we could get the supplies we needed since they knew the terrain better than we did. By the time that I had had Kinara cast a portal to take us back to the lakeside, the Sül’shael were preparing to pack up everything important and enough Nythrin and sparklies to make me plenty of pretties, among other things.