Day 13 of Midwinter, Midday

At Sea, Well of Wisdom

Annwn

By the time the sun was directly overhead, Tadg and I were on a vessel heading back to Brú na Dallta. A second ship followed behind us, waiting to carry back the Fomorians currently piloting our ship.

Tadg had been bandaged and given as many medicinal remedies as the Fomorians were willing to part with on his behalf. Though the two Fomorians who sailed with us handled most of the navigational duties, both Tadg and I were needed to handle any deckhand tasks the large men called out. They seemed to take great pleasure in ordering us about.

Tadg struggled greatly. He stumbled from mast to mast, and I could see that every breath took effort. There were many times that I needed to come to his aid. I realized with a pang that I had likely caused internal injuries with my energy blast. I wasn’t used to the last level-up of my abilities. The amount of energy that I could pull from around me was twice what it was before my trip to Hy-Brasil.

We spoke little. When we managed to exchange the occasional glance in passing, Tadg would quickly look away from me. But gone was the remorseful prisoner from the Deep Realm. Tadg was returning to his people, bringing with him one of the Children of the Cold Moon. I would sail into the harbor under a white banner of truce, and attempt to broker a treaty of sorts. What would happen from there was unknown, but I was banking on Tadg’s ability to get me in front of the King.

I suspected that was the real reason Cai had counseled King Neit to allow me to take their prisoner back to the mainland. Tethra had been extremely displeased with the whole endeavor, which was understandable, given she had risked herself and her crew to bring Tadg to the island only hours earlier. But Cai had spoken with her in private, and eventually, Tethra had agreed. The two of them had then convinced Neit to go along with the plan.

About halfway between the mainland and the Inis Fer Falga, the winds died and the sails fell slack. The two Fomorian sailors left their posts to retrieve a large barrel from below deck.

At my inquisitive look, one of the Fomorians gestured to the barrel, saying “Lúireach Lir,” as if that was supposed to mean something.

Tadg moved as if to open the barrel, his movements were slow and painful. “Armor of Lir,” he translated for me.

I came to his side and together we cracked open the top of the barrel. It was filled to the brim with what looked like the bioluminescent plant from the walls of the Deep Realm. Seeing it up close for the first time, I noticed it looked more like lichen than anything else. And though I didn’t know the scientific difference, I knew there was one.

“Dump it overboard.” The Fomorian pointed to the still water, then took up his position back at the helm.

I did as he commanded. The glowing plant-things poured into the water, leaving a trail of glowing debris behind our ship. Within the glow, I saw the massive eye again. “Muirdris,” I said, remembering Tethra’s earlier comment.

The sea creature shot through the water at an incredible speed. The top of its massive, thorn-covered body surfaced as it ingested the glowing lichen. Its shape reminded me of the ancient drawings of Chinese dragons. Muirdris was the size of three or four train cars and appeared to be completely covered in sharp barbs, some the length of my arm.

Once the beast had eaten, the winds picked up again. Tadg and I shared a look as if to agree silently that we might never swim in open water again. Then, we went back to our chores. It was another grueling few hours in the hottest part of the day before we saw the coast in the distance. After the Fomorians explained how to keep the ship moving in a straight line, they left us, transferring to the trailing Fomorian vessel.

Tadg and I were alone then, on a ship that was much too large for only two people to crew. I let Tadg take the position up on the helm, as he had more experience on the water than I did, and because his injuries made it more difficult for him to manage the other tasks. I ran from the jib to the thing that I silently referred to as the Buttocks, though I think it was actually called the Futtock. I did all the things an experienced sailor would do, even if much slower and much worse. But we managed to limp our way into the harbor.

I had given Tadg only a high-level explanation of my plan. The rest he figured out on his own. We didn’t speak of what would happen once we went ashore. We both knew it was impossible to anticipate the reaction of his father and frankly, I wasn’t all that sure that Tadg wouldn’t immediately stab me in the back.

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It was close to sunset when we dropped anchor in the harbor. We got as close to the other ships as we dared and not long after, smaller boats surrounded us. We were taken ashore and searched, though I was the only one bound. After reaching dry land, we were marched up the hill into a part of town that I recognized. We headed directly for the old fortress at the center of town.

I noticed that things had settled down in the city. There were still soldiers out and about, but most seemed to have returned to their ships, where they were loading supplies and equipment. The exception was our escort. Tadg and I were surrounded by a sea of golden uniforms. Now that I knew what the sword on the uniforms represented, I found myself unable to stop staring at it.

As we entered the fortress, Tadg straightened his back. His shoulders raised slightly. Outside of the bruises on his face, any indication that he was badly injured was gone. Had he been faking his pain the whole time? I didn’t think so, but an uneasy feeling crept over me.

The fortress was huge, but not in the best of repair. Dirt and dust lined the hallways, and windows were broken throughout. After several confusing turns inside the building, we entered a large room that appeared to be a forward command center. The room was full of high-ranking commanders and the page staff. At the center of them all, leaning over a map of what must have been the west coast of Annwn, was a large, bearded man. His gaze immediately fell on us through squinted eyes. He glared and straightened to a standing position.

“My boy!” he boomed over the murmured conversations in the room. Everyone promptly fell silent. “What prize have you brought to your king?” All eyes turned to regard us, and I suddenly felt like maybe I had gotten in over my head.

“Father, I would like to introduce you to Bren Búachaill, brother to Cai Maccán, Child of the Cold Moon, and…” he paused and looked at me before continuing, “my friend.”

The room erupted with sounds of shocked disbelief. The brow of the Overking came together and his disapproving glare somehow became even more unbearable. Tadg, to his credit, did not flinch. He held his father's glare and simply waited.

“Your friend…” King Nuada repeated. “Tell me, son, what is it this man wishes to accomplish by flying the flag of truce on the eve of battle?”

Tadg turned to me with a nod. I gave him a look that I hoped he knew meant I appreciated his words. His declaration of friendship was perhaps a means to have his father look upon me as more than a brother to his enemy, but it also felt like a private message to me.

“Your honor… highness…” I said, without as much eloquence as I had planned. “I am not a Fomorian. But as you know, Cai is my brother. What you might not know is that I have only just come into this realm. My only allegiance is to my friends, many of whom you know.”

The king studied me as I spoke. I could feel the uncomfortable tickle that signaled he was using his Identification spell on me, scanning my power rank notifications. For a moment, I thought about trying to deny his magic, but I knew that wouldn't help my chances here. I allowed his spell and continued with my speech.

“I have come from Inis Fer Falga, where I have taken counsel with Neit and Cai.” I intentionally left off Neit’s honorifics. “They declare their wish to have peace with Falias, by returning your son to you… mostly unharmed.”

The murmuring throughout the room grew louder, and I could see from the commanders' expressions that they couldn't believe what I was saying. King Nuada held up a hand for silence and motioned for me to continue. “What are their terms?"

“Should they be given the freedom to raise families and occupy their first home in the Deep Realm, they will ensure that no Fomorian force will cause any further disturbance to the Tuatha or their servants.”

Nuada appeared amused at this. He paused, appearing to mull over my words. His shrewd gaze turned to Tadg. “What are your thoughts on this, son?”

“I believe that this would be a peaceful resolution to our Fomorian problem.” Tadg paused, then added, “It would save the lives of countless changelings and garner goodwill with the Fomorians who wish to live under our laws.”

Nuada laughed openly and loudly at Tadg’s answer. He opened his mouth to respond, but I stopped him with a hand gesture. Tadg looked at me in confusion.

“I wasn’t finished with the terms,” I said cooly, gaining confidence. “You also must reverse the Slaugh Doctrine and release the Breo-Banríon from your prison in Falias.”

The place erupted into exclamations and accusations. Tadg’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates, looking at me in disbelief. Nuada remained silent, staring at me in silent outrage. I winked at him and let off my own newly enhanced Identification spell.

I could feel resistance at first, but I suddenly started getting his power rank notifications. Nuada flinched ever so slightly, as he felt my magical appraisal. I looked at the information it was giving me. It said he only had one domain. That couldn’t be right. Had Cai lied to me? Nuada smirked when he saw the confusion on my face.

A cold sweat broke out all over my body. I was starting to panic when I noticed something odd with the presentation of his domain. The Dagda spoke the notification in a way that sounded off-key.

I remembered Cai’s instructions about properly tuning my spell and rolled Nuada's notifications around in my mind. I stretched them and replayed them a second and third time. I changed the pitch and slowed them down a bit. Soon, I noticed a second layer to the notifications. It took some effort, but I managed to extract the hidden layer and place it next to the domain information.

Name: Overking Nuada Airgetlám

Domains: Hunting and Beauty

That was all that I needed to see. Nuada had two domains, one for his given domain and one for the one he had taken from Bres.

Nuada glared at me, his eyes hot with pure hate. He knew what I had done and what I had discovered. And thus began act two of my plan.