Ray

Uncle Trevor was very interested in the arms, looking at them curiously. "I can see why you didn't want the Xnarthan knowing about them," he said, looking at a particular hat with distaste.

"Three Generals lost their lives because of that hat," he said.

"Five hundred thousand Elves lost their lives because of them, I think we're even." the Dean said, dismissing him.

"Call the Satyrs, Ray, just make sure the sound gets through.

Ray nodded, connecting to the Fae stone as he blew air into the flute. The flute didn't blow. Ray shook his head, blowing in mana instead, letting the flute vibrate. A song flowed out of him, the song of a Fae child calling for aid, calling to anyone that might listen. And it was heard. A portal appeared, connecting the Treasury to the Elder Council of Satri itself.

"Are we sure calling a Satyr Elder into a room full of weapons is a good idea?" Torrin said, meekly, cowering as five pairs of eyes turned towards him.

The portal opened to reveal a single male Satyr, holding onto a brown wood staff as he walked in with poise.

"I wouldn't recommend asking people to teleport in here." the Elder said, looking at the weapons warily.

"But I presume you do not wish to attack me, since you invited me into your hidden base." he said, looking around before walking towards one particular horn.

"The horn of Secreptus." he said, looking at it carefully, "I knew Secreptus."

The Dean tensed, ready for an attack. Ray regretted acting so impulsively, it would have been better to wait and then call the guy in a place where he wouldn't notice the remains of his loved ones made into weapons.

"Do not be so afraid, I knew what happened to him long ago. I was the one who gave it to the Phoenixes to fashion into a weapon, though I see it has fallen into your hands now." the Elder said.

"Do you want it back?" the Dean asked, his tone grating. Ray knew he didn't want to part with even a single one of the weapons here.

"Yes." the Elder said, making Ray’s heart leap into his throat, "But I will not steal it. I am Elder Mar of the Satyr council of Satri. I will be fulfilling our debt since Elder Betava is unable to do so. Now, why have you called me here?"

"Yes, Elder, I was hoping you could give me a recipe that could cure a Human from ingesting a Fae Duke's blood” Ray said, hoping that he had an answer.

Elder Mar headed towards Anita, ignoring the stares he was getting.

“A modified specimen, is it? And quite old, too. I see that you Humans have been at it again. " Elder Mar said, shaking his head in disgust.

" Can you cure her?" Uncle Trevor asked, getting impatient.

" I will need to take a sample to be sure. " Elder Mar said, making the entire entourage react protectively. "But I know that's going to be hard given the minuscule size of the specimen."

"I can help you run the tests,'' Ray said, stepping forward. I can see the mama and tell you what I see. "

"Far sight. A Fae child should not have it. " Elder Mar stated, looking sad for some reason.

A grunt sounded, reminding Ray that there were people here that didn't know his identity. Oh well, he'd just deal with that later.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Ok, what do you see. " Elder Mar asked.

"The Xnarthan mixed another kind of blood in with the Fae blood, it's attacking the Fae blood and forcing it to move around and be active." Ray answered.

"Hmm, that seems to be Xaructhos blood, it is the only one I can think of that would have such a reaction. "Elder Mar said, kneeling next to Anita as he put one hand on her stomach.

Ray concentrated on the place, trying to see what was going on.

"The blood moved in the opposite direction." he said.

"Hmm, what a weird little thing." Elder Mar said. " What color is the mana? "

Ray focuses, trying to get an idea.

"Blue, with a hint of black" he answered, concentrating to be sure of his observation.

Elder Mar sighed and got up, turning to Ray.

"I do indeed know am antidote." he said. "But it will not be easy to acquire.”

"What is?" Ray countered, eager to get the answer.

"Yes, that is true." Elder Mar replied, a faint smile on his face.

"But this one is a bit harder than you think. To make the antidote, you will need to mix the blood of another High Fae Duke with Rectel water and inject it directly into her body. The blood must be given willingly and with her situation in mind, or else it will not work. " Elder Mar said.

Ray's mind started running at a hundred miles a minute, looking for solutions for the problem. "Ok, we can take the portal back to the Far continent and then go ask a Fae Duke for his blood-"

"Not quite. The Fae continent is humongous, you can't travel to a Fae city and come back to Satri in twenty-four hours, not at your Tier. But more than that, the Fae shall not let you go easily. Not to mention the chances of a Fae Duke giving blood to save a Human girl. '' Elder Mar interrupted.

"Can't you please teleport us in? Perhaps we can try to persuade one to give blood. '' Uncle Trevor said, his desperation seeping through.

"No." Elder Mar said, turning to him and speaking rudely. "I don't think that would be an advisable course of action. The Fae continent is shielded with space blockers, I couldn’t teleport you in even if I wanted to. "

"What would you suggest then? Is there truly no other way to heal Anita?" The Dean asked.

"Not one I know of. " Elder Mar said, "But there is a way to get the blood. "

"Could you please speak quickly? " Aunty Ariana interrupted. " I am sorry, my heart just can't take it when you stop so much while speaking."

"I apologize, Madam, I merely got carried away." Elder Mar said, for once, seeming actually apologetic. "The only way to get the necessary blood is a Fae stone. As a reward for completing the Trial, the Fae is given three rewards. Ray could choose one of them to be a vial of blood."

"Wouldn't a Fae Duke be needed, though?' Aunty Ariana asked.

"The Fae Spirits are often Duke level Fae themselves, but that is not the problem. The issue is getting to the Fae stone, the only ones I know of are in the Fae continent, where we run into the same problem. " Elder Mar said.

"What does a Fae stone look like?" Uncle Trevor asked. "The Empire has excavated multiple locations that could have a Fae stone among them. Rempeste is holding a round ball thingy in her base."

"What does this ‘round ball thingy’ look like? I can't really tell from description alone, it is sadly not among my powers. " Elder Mar asked.

"I, too, have a lot of Fae artifacts, though I think Ray would have known if there was a Fae stone among them." the Dean said.

"Norman might have some idea too, though he isn't conscious enough to tell us yet" Ray said, trying to think of alternatives.

"Perhaps we should talk to this Norman while your Human friend here tries to draw the ball." Elder Mar said, looking at Uncle Trevor's ball drawing that seemed more egg-like than spherical.

"Norman's in the bakery," Ray said as the Dean began to cast.

"Wait, let me. The Xnarthan may detect your casting, they'll have a harder time spotting mine." Elder Mar said, waving his staff as a small potion appeared.

"What am I looking for?" Elder Mar said.

"A cat, though you may not be able to find him." Ray said.

"I am quite a bit more experienced than you think." Elder Mar said, smiling as he leaned his staff towards the portal and sent waves of purple mana towards it.

The smile turned awkward as Elder Mar realized the futility of his task.

"What type of cat is this?" Elder Mar said, looking at the portal in puzzlement.

"Norman is a very old Fae. And he’s quite powerful, too." Ray said as the subject of their conversation walked through the portal,

"How old is he exactly?" Elder Mar said, stuttering as he looked at Norman in shock.

"Well, I don't know how old exactly, but Norman called himself an ancient. And he has a nice poem too." Ray said, bending to pick the cat up.

"Ray, that very old Fae just walked through a portal I conjured, taking control of my mana and giving it back without me even knowing about it. I think you have something more than a 'very old Fae'' Elder Mar said.