A wolf’s howl pierced the air, turning slowly into the wailing of a distraught woman. The winds of the homeland were ripe with the scent of freshly spilled blood. An ocean of it. The forest floor was wet beneath Nydeus boots as he followed the path of destruction that the wolf had wrought. The sickening squelch of blood mixed with rot and diseased soil and flora was the only other sound in his ears. Aside from the wailing. Her wailing. The faerie lord wiped some grime off of his face as he came to her location.

There, in the center of the ruined and burning village was his charge, lady Bleddyn was on her knees, her gown torn and covered in blood and dark mud. She held her hands to her chest as she wailed and sobbed on her knees. Her brilliant crimson curls were dark with dried mud and blood.

She heard him approach and grew silent. “Nydeus…. Please… Please make it stop.” She said between ragged breaths. “I don’t want to do this anymore. Please.”

Nydeus came closer with a sigh and put a hand on her shoulder from behind. “Bled I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“I can’t do this anymore. I cannot. Please end this.” She whispered through silent tears. “It hurts so much… and I know it hurts him. However angry with you he will be, it will hurt him less than having to sit helpless while Syraela forces us to hurt so many innocents.” Silver eyes tinged with starlight looked up at him, tears streaking through the blood on her face.

It broke his heart to hear her speak like this yet again. To have to command her yet again to do what she’d done this night. To hurt his best friend’s dearest love. But he also had the same pain she did. The same lack of choice. They both were slaves to the queen. Bound by their souls and forced to do her bidding.

“Bleddyn, I cannot. She’s forbidden it.”

The daughter of the lord Fomalhaut and the goddess of the earth was silent. She looked down at her hands and then sobbed harder. He let her. There was nothing he could do but stand there, letting her get it out. After some time, she’d fall unconscious and he would scoop her up into his arms. Nydeus turned around to walk back to his griffin when he saw what looked like the shadow of a far off mountain. But it was not far off, no. It was moving, and it was looming over him and the small woman.

Two orbs that looked like small moons narrowed at him as the form became more defined. A massive wolf the size of a mountain lowered its head and snarled at him, the sound rumbling the ground and the already silent forest grew quieter. No animals made noise as the wolf lord’s fury rolled through the trees. He lowered himself and leapt for Nydeus, jaws gaping open and fangs ready to crush him.

“Ascher no!” Nydeus cried out.

Nydeus sat up with a gasp and in a sweat. He looked down at the silk of his sheets and ran his hands through his raven hair. The high king of the Solar court was panting as he realized he was in his room, in his bed, safe at his palace. The shimmering gold of his tattoos confirmed that he was in the present. Awake. A knock came at the door and his hand slid to the dagger emblazoned with the sun of Solaris on it.

“Who is it?” He called out in his deep voice.

“It's me.” The smooth and confident voice of his second in command carried through the door.

“Can I come in or are you going to try to kill me again? Because I just got new jewelry and I would really like to wear it for more than… a day before it gets damaged in combat.”

“Oh shut up Aendoss.” Nydeus groaned as he let go of the dagger, rubbing his face.

The door opened, and in stepped the dark gray purple skinned elf with silver hair and curling horns from atop his head. The male was dressed in black and golds, the usual uniform of Nydeus sentinels. Gold rings and chains were attached to his horns, strange rune work was engraved into the horns themselves on their ridges.

Aendoss looked him over with pink eyes on black and pursed his lips slightly before turning and walking over to the window and throwing open the curtains. “Oberon came looking for you last night. Said he had some sort of news out of the mortal plane."

Nydeus sighed and rubbed his weathered face with a hand. “Doesn’t he have a court to run? What was he doing in the mortal plane.”

“He wasn’t? Perhaps you should go back to sleep.” Aendoss responded.

Nydeus waved a hand at him and got out of bed. “I’ll go find him shortly. What else is going on that needs my attention.”

Aendoss leaned against the door frame a moment, eyeing him with some mild concern. “Nothing that Oberon is not already going to tell you. I’ve got a meeting with the wolf lord and Lord Commander Stormwood this afternoon, and then I will be back here to tend to whatever it is you need from me.”

“Right… Thank you, dismissed.” Nydeus said and started dressing. The horned elf watched him a moment, but didn’t argue, he could tell that his lord was in a mood that was less talkative than he already was. He dipped his head and slipped out of the room, softly shutting the door behind him.

The high king of the day court stared at the door as it closed behind the alusari. He rubbed his face again and pulled on a heavy charcoal black silk robe. He ran a hand through his hair, took a breath to calm his nerves from the dream, and pulled his boots on before leaving his rooms himself to go find the Summer king.

—

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Oberon’s palace

Summer court capital

2 hours later

Through a portal from his palace of mirrors, the high king of day stepped into the Summer palace. A beautiful place built on a sparkling jewel-like sea. The palace itself had angled roofs that swooped up to the sky at the corners and middles. The tiles of the roof were a warm orange brown and the walls were made of a warm and welcoming clay color. Open walkways bridged the various wings and buildings of the palace complex that were separated by small islands. White sheer curtains flowed gently in all of the windows of the palace, the windows stayed open throughout most of the year, closing only when the wrath of the sea and skies rained down upon the palace and the city.

The city itself was on the coast surrounding the palace in a half moon shape and spread out into the forests surrounding it. To the south was the jungles and the mountains, to the north and east was the mysterious forest called the Wonderwood. A deep dark dense forest at the foot of the Silver mountains that was home to many fey, cryptid, and creature alike.

Nydeus entered the palace from the portal that was established in Oberon’s study, a beautiful library filled with many magical and alchemical texts. Despite Oberon’s image as a fool and a care free ruler, he was quite the learned man and warrior. Not a threat to be underestimated. The high king walked out of the summer king’s study, down the hall, and out onto a veranda that the capricious Oberon was usually found on.

Oberon was leaning on one of the balcony railings that was made of the warm marble stone, overlooking the ocean. He wore a set of shorter robes made out of a sky blue sheer silk embroidered with golden roses. His brilliant auburn hair faded to a golden yellow at the tips of the waving locks. His sun tanned skin seemed to warm in the afternoon light. He swirled a glass of deep red wine in his hand. “I did not want to wake you up. It could wait.” Oberon said, taking a sip, ocean blue eyes still watching the horizon line. “I have a storm to worry about, I told Aendoss that.”

“Well I am here now.” Nydeus responded to the king that was his vassal. “How bad will the storm be?”

Oberon shook his head and turned to face him now, he motioned out to sea with his free hand and sighed. “I don’t know, it's not like any storm I’ve seen in our time here in these lands. It feels wrong.” He said slowly. There was a hesitancy there, a slight note of unease. “It reminds me of the air before the homeland fell.”

Those last words were said carefully, the summer king was trying to not lay blame but it was hard not to hear it. He looked back at the skies, his blue eyes slowly changing in color to match the dark gray of the clouds. The faerie had always been in tune with the weather over the seas.

Nydeus followed his gaze, searching the skies for the phantom dragon that stalked his nightmares. The witch. Her poison touch.

“She’s dead Oberon. It cannot be the same feeling, we made sure of it before we fled.” The high king said in an attempt to reassure the other. But it was hollow almost, his nightmares and the pain of the scars on his arm from those days made him question that fact.

“The blight never died when she was killed, Nydeus. There is always the chance…And if Sylvanus decides to act against us, then he will want his bride.” Oberon replied with a too tired sounding voice. “I am tired of uprooting my people… our people. It has to end. If the Mother and Solaris won’t deal with it, then we must.”

Oberon shook his head, not waiting for a reply, he didn’t have the energy to continue the conversation and keep an eye on the storm at the same time. “That is not why I asked to speak to you. No, I’ve gotten word from one of my men who travels to and from the mortal plane. There is a group of humans, acting in what they say is the will of Solaris, taking non-humans and whisking them away or just straight razing their homes and killing them all. Lord Commander Stormwood has looked into it and it appears to be a cell led by a half elf male who has shorn his ears off. None of the non-humans are seen again that they capture. Aside from one elf that has managed to escape. It is the same cell, per the Lord Commander, that had captured Lord Commander Tiberius three centuries ago and tortured him and a dragon. They seem to have resurfaced. Why, she does not know. We thought you should know given your… position as Solaris champion.”

Nydeus listened quietly to the report and rubbed his chin, fingers scratching the beard hair along it. “Solaris has not given me any indication that this is something that needs looking into yet, but I will do so.”

“I would hope so. Given that Solaris' angel servant has gone missing as well apparently.”

“He has what??”

“Lord Adrian has been missing since before the citadel at Olanthia fell some time ago. His daughter, Nadine, is also missing. I am looking into her disappearance with the huntsman. The girl hasn’t been seen in nearly three centuries. Though, I’ve gotten word on a lead saying that she is still within the citadel being held prisoner, she was previously thought dead at the hands of the vampire prince who took the citadel. I will be searching for her once I deal with this storm.”

Nydeus just stared at him at the revelation of all of this information. So the girl may be alive. But Adrian was missing. This was yet another problem added to the stack of problems the worlds at be already had. An archangel and his half blood child were missing. The archangel was one thing, but the child… the girl had powerful blood. If this zealot cell or something worse such as the Usurper god Sylvanus were to get a hold of her…

“Does Narmun know?”

“Not yet. I wanted to pass it along to you first so that you would not accuse me of playing favorites.”

“You are insufferable.”

“I am well aware of this. Hence the wine.” The summer king smirked a little and looked back at him out of the corner of his eye. “I will speak to Narmun if you wish, given that Ascher will likely rip your throat out the moment you set foot in the Night palace.”

“Do as you please.” Nydeus gave him a rather irritated unamused look and then waved a hand as he started to walk away. “Call me if you are unable to tame the storm when it arrives, I will see what I am able to do.”

Oberon merely waved a hand in response and continued monitoring the storm. Nydeus returned to his palace and made his way to the sanctuary within that was dedicated to the god of the sun and war, Solaris. A tall stone statue gilded in gold stood in the center of a dais. It featured a strong featured elven man in golden armor with a lance raised to the sky, a cloak of pure gold ending in almost life like flickering flames trailed down his back. The figures eyes were glowing brightly with sunlight and appeared to be watching over the room with what appeared to be the gaze of a father protecting his children. A pool of what looked like liquid sunlight surrounded the feet of the statue and the dais. Two golden griffins curled around it protectively with their talons in the air and beaks open and ready to render any foe to shreds.

Nydeus knelt down in front of the statue at a small altar that lay between the two griffins. Small knives and other trinkets were laid upon it, both from Nydeus and his men who would occasionally come into this sanctuary. He looked up at the statue and then down at his hands and the scars along his wrists and arms. The scars that he received when the plague witch had experimented on him and the late Bleddyn. They were paining him now, they had been for months. Aching with the same sickly ice cold touch of the one who gave them.

“My lord… Give me a direction… something. We cannot do this alone. I cannot do this alone.”