Fomoria went to Marigold once he was sure that he could use his old sigils, that it wasn’t a fluke.

She had been resting, but once he was there, showing off his sigils, she moved to her desk.

He hadn’t been to her home here, and yet couldn’t help but notice how quickly he recognized the layout of the single floor as matching the first floor of her and Xol’s home.

“Very impressive that you regained that so quickly.”

Her voice betrayed her false excitement, but Fomoria tried to pretend he didn’t know where this was going.

“Now I can join the fight again.”

“No. You are still more useful as a teacher.“

“Can’t you just get an Other to do it?”

“Yes. I could recall one of your marshalls, and I could order them to teach your classes. But I won’t.

I don’t believe you should be on a battlefield, and it’s not because, or rather, not just because I don’t trust that you are as well as you claim. Xol was hurt by you, and even if he understands how to avoid it again, he is more likely to attempt to capture you like he has so many of the Fae.”

“I would rather be the one to-”

“I am telling you this, no. You do not have leave to fight.”

“Why?”

“I just told you.”

“Doesn’t matter, I am going to take that risk.”

“Just listen to me.”

She couldn’t hide her annoyance.

“You wanted me to talk with you, so explain why you actually don't want me out there.”

“Alright. Fine.”

She sighed.

“You aren’t an ally, not really, you are a player on the board that we intend to use.

As it stands you are not trusted enough for us to be letting you go out and do what you want, since the safe option is to just let you train people we don’t need to worry about as much, we want you doing that.”

“I want more sigils.”

“Did you listen to anything?”

“I’m ornery and bullheaded. Simply put, unless you can stop me from doing things, I’m going to do them.

You want me to remain here when I know that I could help out there, pay me. Either I am a friend or I am a worker, and I don’t work for free.”

“You do not want me to be forced to test if I can restrain you.”

She knew that aura could touch him, so she tried telekinesis.

He felt the million fingers of it and tried to subsume them just as he had mana; it was more reflex than intention.

Marigold recoiled in pain, stopping her attack as she fell from her chair.

At first he thought she was fine, but when a few seconds passed, and then another, and another, he rushed to find Elk.

He knew that the healer was somewhere in New Kor, but he hadn’t actually visited her, so he found any building that was larger than the masses of single room homes and started searching them.

It took minutes for Fomoria to find her.

“ELK, ELK, HELP ME.”

She had been getting breakfast ready; she screamed and dropped the plates of eggs for her and Ox.

“WHAT?”

“MARIGOLD IS HURT, COME.”

When they arrived, she was starting to move again, groaning as she did.

“What happened?”

“She used telekinesis, and… I ate it.”

“What?”

“Her aura, I absorbed it like mana.”

“Aura is a skin that you seem to have peeled away. She’s probably suffered some soul damage and-”

Sepul arrived in his full radiance.

“Woman, leave this to me. Fomoria, wait here.”

His stomach sank as he watched Sepul’s hands move in a flurry and his face become more stern as the minutes dragged on.

More and more people came into the room, Amber, Coronach, and a woman who he didn’t recognize at first, but which angered him greatly.

After a few hours, the room was finally quiet, Coronach and the woman left, not caring once their jobs were done.

Sepul told Amber to take Marigold to her room and watch.

He closed the door once Amber was out.

“I-”

“Quiet.”

His eyes went white as Cecht gave him instructions, the gods had already gathered to discuss what Fomoria had done.

When his eyes returned to normal, he opened his mouth, but couldn’t bring himself to speak at first.

Fomoria floated there in silence until Sepul found his voice.

“They want you to just stay here. You don’t need to worry, this won’t change anything. But, you need to remain here while we find out-“

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Fomoria’s stance changed, any anxiousness was gone, and his eyes lost their shaking crudely drawn on appearance, turning into endless white holes.

“You’re lying to me.”

“No. I wouldn’t do that, not to you. I am your grandfather, and when Marigold wanted you to stop marking people, I stopped her at first.”

“You were so good at lying before. Why now do you fail?”

Sepul reached for him with aura, yet caught nothing but air.

Fomoria panicked as soon as he left.

He didn’t know why he did that, how he knew that Sepul was lying, or why he just admitted it.

He thought about just going back, because leaving certainly made things worse since he hadn’t even really explained himself.

As he walked back and forth he crossed hundreds of miles until he heard singing.

The song was wordless, yet conveyed more than any could.

Betrayal and union, brutality and normality, love and suffering.

It was familiar and yet he couldn’t place it.

Even as he stepped across dozens of miles, it hardly changed in volume.

He wanted to run from it, the singer must’ve been someone with strange magic, probably a Fae.

But… it was a beautiful song.

He came upon a cliff, and at the edge of the point that overlooked the sea there was a tree, gnarled and withered, but yet stranding strong against the storm that buffeted it.

On the tree was a skeleton, tied to it with its own guts, and crows picked at it in reverse, building up the flesh over time.

The woman sat on a stump, singing her song as she guided her crows.

When she saw him, her song fell silent.

“Welcome, Fomoria.”

She waited for a response, expecting fury like what befell Xol.

“Nemain. I heard your song; were you calling me?”

“As I have before. Yet the past was a failure, not one of my own I gather. I expected wrath. Do you not remember me?”

“To the Goliath, a war god. To the Ainites, The Witch Fae. Ainites? No… False Undead.”

“Perhaps a better name for them, more telling, less lies. Why do you hold calm towards me?”

“You are a puppet. Nothing you’ve done has been against me with harm in mind.”

His own words sounded strange to him, his cadence and word choice were not his entirely, yet his intent was there.

“I am puppet to no soul. And what of David, Parnell, are they not an affront?”

“Why do you seek my anger? David suffered his heart, your power was nothing that he was not already.”

“I sought not fury, only understanding for lack of it.”

“Yet you sought myself. Why is this? There is no union between us.”

“A union I not ask. Why have you brought yourself to me?”

Fomoria explained what happened with Marigold.

“Look at them, the fools who strike out at even their allies for even a minor interference with their plans which have been told to none. How even family becomes the enemy of their enemy.

There are no words which would turn you to my side-”

“The side of Xol.”

“Mine is mine own, he is himself.”

“Yet you turned your people against mine for his.”

“An ally is better than none against gods, our goals in this instant are one. But an ally I would not forever have, for our goals are not as the other’s.”

“And so you want me?”

“You are a devouring maw of darkness, but not of The Darkness, and so they fear you, they understand nothing. You are formless, difficult to chain. Not like this one. Does it interest you?”

Fomoria looked at the body, slowly being built in front of him.

It was bulky unlike what he was, its muscles rippled and appeared as though carved from fine stone.

Yet all that had been made was a set of legs and hands.

“I will not fall into the traps of Fae.”

“On my word, under threat of vanishing, this body has no deception to it. When the day comes that it is as whole as you, you may refuse it, but that day is not this one. Return to your gods, be as allies, not a puppet, let them turn you against them, and return to me for aid. I shall not move from this cliff until that day.”

“And what of a chance of betrayal from myself?”

“What of it?”

She turned away from him on the stump, looking only at the body.

“But an aid now, a desire of good will from one to one. You will bring not enemies upon my head, and I shall grant you blood on your hands.”

“What blood?”

“Lifeblood. Watch closely, accept or not, it is yours.”

She moved her hand and he copied it.

He did not recognize the sigil, but when he cast it, he understood the meaning.

“Health, what you shall need in time.”

Everything he knew told him to never thank a Fae, for fear that it might bind them, so he simply left.

He returned to New Kor, and he found Marigold under Amber’s guard.

“Where have you-”

“Quiet. Marigold, I know you can see me. I have the magic to heal you now, but it does not come free.

It is clear to me that we are not friends or allies, and this healing will not come freely.

I will not be caged, but I know you are going to try anyway. I will give my army the mark, but they are my army. I will teach the classes, but they are my classes. You may ask me for help, but you will not order me, because we are two sides against one.”

Marigold sat up in her bed.

“There is no need to be so dramatic. I explained that it was an accident, you didn’t-”

“If you had the ability to lock me away, if your attack had worked, what would this conversation be?

Would you be speaking so softly towards me? Or would I be collared and told what to do?

I’m no longer the dog of the gods to be sicced on targets. Don’t bullshit me with a pat on the head after you failed to whip me.”

Amber stood from her chair.

“Don’t say something you are going to regret. You and Marigold are friends, we’re all friends.

This is all a big misunderstanding.”

“If they locked me away, what would you do? Would it be like when we were younger and you decided to become a military asset in the hopes of helping me or avenging me, or would you follow along with their plans anyway?”

She opened her mouth, but what she wanted to say would’ve put her on the wrong side of the gods.

“I don’t know.”

Hardly a good answer for either side.

“Marigold, tell your god what I’ve said, and I will heal if they accept, though I know they will betray me later because I will not be controlled.”

“Aarde already heard everything. Don’t try to make some kind of deal like this, you’re upset and not thinking straight. I really just wanted you to calm down before because-”

“Then we will be enemies. I will fight my war, and you will leave my spire. Amber, stay or leave, it is your choice.”

Marigold’s eyes turned gold and burned like the sun.

“Boy, you will remember yourself, this is not the war you want.”

“Fuck you. I-”

A wave of energy destroyed the room, intending to scatter his form and send him away for a time.

Yet in moments, Fomoria was back together.

“We are either enemies or allies, but I am not your puppet. You’ve-”

Again and again, Marigold’s form was puppeteered by Aarde and tried to disperse him until he stopped coming back.

Yet Fomoria’s will was not one to be crushed so easily, and his soul was once Xol’s, still holding some of his power.

Marigold began to puke blood, her body was not meant to hold her god for long.

“I am not going to go away. Either I fight Xol on my own, or I fight alongside your champions.

But don’t think that I am going to go away, nor will I let you lock me up.

I’m certain that this is every fear that those like Cecht held being justified, but there is no time for the past and regrets.”

“Boy-”

“My name is Fomoria.”

“Fomorian, you are cast from this world.”

The last thing he saw were clouds.

----------------------------------------

The plan was suicidal, using the drive after what happened, but they didn’t have any choice.

So the captain made his choice, he gave the command, and 10,000 paid the price when they leaked through.

Nanites worked to seal off the halls once they were detected, and the cleaners arrived to kill any that were still alive after a few weeks without anyone left to eat.

As it stood, everyone agreed it was the right call, they were closing in, another missile could’ve crippled they ship entirely.

The drive could be fixed, but it would use up all of their nanite supplies and still be at risk of another breach if they used it so far into the void.

So he made his second call.

A few decades would pass like nothing in cryo.