The amount of experience the Seelie and Unseelie Monarchs were worth should have allowed me to gain at least a level, each. They had to have been experienced capped for eons, stuck on the cusp of becoming Demi-Gods. I'm not sure what I expected to see once I transitioned out of the Ring. I thought it likely that at least one had died. I couldn't think of any other reason why I'd gained enough experience to level otherwise.
The chambers that had been constructed for Court functions and were appointed in the colors of each faction were gone. The ice column bomb traps that I had created had left deep craters. Marble from floor, walls, and ceiling had become shrapnel, as the explosion from the combination of extreme cold and the extreme heat had produced a catastrophic cascade. As the fire and ice fed on each other, the very air was consumed. A vacuum existed that should have banked the fires as they were starved of oxygen. And that would have been the case if magic hadn't been the fuel that I had invested, the trigger that resulted in rippling effect, as wave after wave blasted through the room until the final column was destroyed. Each explosion had used the detritus from the proceeding explosion to pinion and pepper the area.
The Sidhe the Sithern had isolated in the mezzanine, looked down at the devastation, aghast. Some, almost as if they were spectators in some ancient coliseum, enjoyed the destruction that pervaded the room. The devastation was absolute, and both Unseelie and Seelie held their breath in fear or anticipation, watching as the smoke cleared to discover who if anyone would remain standing.
The Court was also being attended by media from both sides, individuals who had not taken any part of the battle but had streamed the events live for the entire planet to see. Court sessions were always broadcast. The Seelie and Unseelie agreeing to an impartial panel of journalists for commentary and discussion about the events that took place. A few Pantheons also sent cameras, the Olympians, and Asgardians editing delayed feeds to demonstrate the plebeian nature of the Sidhe government.
No one had expected the nightmare that had been broadcast. The normal staged discussions and Courtly dance of sycophants, the attempt by the Court to project harmony and peace was shattered by the afterimages, of combat. The similarity between the scene before them now and a war-ravaged battlefield were eerily comparable.
A cough from those watching, throat irritated by the billowing smoke, smoke that shouldn't exist since nothing was burned to fuel the fire, released those watching events unfold. The quiet stillness of a frozen tableau, the stillness of shock and disbelief had only emphasized the horror of events over the past half hour. Those that were too young to have participated in the last Seelie-Unseelie great war had no frame of reference. The images contrasting with what they had believed their entire lives. That the Ranked Kings and Queens were indestructible.
But for those that had lived long enough, had taken part in wars were wholesale slaughter of Seelie and Unseelie was the only goal. They knew. Knew that as bad as this is, it could have so much worse. At least the conflict had been limited to our Rank. Sithern and System had acted to remove the other combatants in time to minimize their deaths. For those that recalled the nightmare of war, beings that had lived hundreds of thousands of years, they gazed upon this scene of destruction with relief.
When the smoke had cleared and there was nothing left but the debris and a few melting shards of ice, those that had been seeking desperately for confirmation of the battle's outcome were stunned. The Monarchs, those beings closest to achieving the experience needed to embrace the Divine and become Ranked Demi-Gods. Those who ruled at times fairly, capriciously, or jealously, had remained an established Power. Knowable and predictable after so many years of rule. Unassailable and invulnerable.
I knew that something had happened, but even I was surprised to see all six of the Monarchs wounded. Wounded so badly that their ability to heal and regenerate was not able to repair the damage immediately. For the Unseelie those wounds were horrific, but repairs were proceeding quickly enough that those people watching the video feeds could see burns healing, shrapnel being expelled, and blood flow being staunched.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Things were much different for the Seelie. The System had given the Seelie a chance. A chance to release and heal my people. They had ignored the World announcement and had doomed themselves and their Court to zero fertility, but they had also crippled their healing and regenerative abilities.
All of them were badly injured. Puck having been located in the epicenter of the blast radius was barely hanging on to life. Queen Mab was also seriously wounded. An unfortunate set of circumstances had occurred at the moment of the explosion. Queen Moriggan, of the Unseelie, had finally broken through Queen Mab's armor of light and inflicted devastating damage. Her final slash before she was blown across the room in the explosion's aftermath had nearly bisected the Seelie Queen.
Puck was not dead. Even the illogic of watching Queen Mab hold her body together, trying to heal the wound that had almost separated her torso from her legs was not as horrific as the wounds Puck had suffered. His beating heart lying on the floor for all to see was proof of that. And unlike Mab who was healing, even if the pace was so slow that it might take a thousand years before repairs were complete, he was not healing at all.
Queen Mab had gambled with all of their lives, their fertility, and the future of the Seelie faction. Her descent into madness may have all but destroyed her people. Even those not of the Court would carry a debuff that reduced their fertility, a debuff that included their ability to harvest and nurture crops and food.
They would have to find a way, a quest to dispel the debuff they as a faction was now saddled with, accept their fate, or hope for asylum and sanctuary by disavowing the Seelie faction and joining either the Unseelie or the Tuatha de Danaan.
I was certain the Seelie faction would survive. Diminished, their Power greatly reduced. But they would survive.
I wasn't certain Queen Mab, King Lugh, and Consort Puck could maintain their position as Over-King and Queens for their faction. I thought it likely that the Kelpie or Knockers would decide it was time to usurp the established political structure and convene a new Court if the Seelie tried to remain in power and prop up Queen Mab. That is if Mab and Puck lived, that was yet to be determined.
The silence that permeated the room was multiplied across the world as those Sidhe who had been watching the live broadcast joined those in the Sithern in stunned disbelief. It was as if a spell of [Silence] had been cast worldwide until Danu exhaled and the bubble of silence burst. Across the entire Seelie territory, panic and fear set in.
Those Court members that were in attendance began shouting and clamoring for explanations. Their voices joined by a multitude of citizens that spread news and fear in equal measure. It took less than five minutes before every person on the planet was aware that something momentous had occurred.
I ignored those demanding my attention or ordering me to heal the fallen Monarchs, my attention focused on a new System prompt.
[You have helped defeat both Seelie and Unseelie Ranked. You may claim reparations from the Seelie based on penalties assessed. Tuatha de Danaan enjoys a 5% increase in crop yield and 7.5% increased fertility for all faction members.]
[The Seelie have been assessed a permanent debuff of 10% decrease to crop yield and 15% decrease to fertility.]
[Accept Yes/No]
I saw no reason to not accept the boons. Not only would it increase my standing within my own faction, but the Seelie and Unseelie in my territory should also look on me with increased favor.
[World Announcement: King Teigh Mac de Beleros y Cyronax of the Tuatha de Danaan faction has prevailed in battle against both Seelie and Unseelie faction. Penalties and rewards apply. Note: Buff and Debuff are faction linked, changing faction requires a one-year cool-down period before new buff/debuff becomes active. The waiting period does not apply to those individuals of Aingeal Geamhraidh who have been given the option to change faction.]
For the Unseelie, it maintained the status quo. For the Seelie, it was more proof that Queen Mab had led her people to ruin. For Mab, it was the breaking point.
[New Quest: Queen Mab has refused to admit defeat. She has challenged you to a personal duel.]
[Accept Yes/No]